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US first lady Melania Trump climbs into her vehicle wearing a Zara jacket with the phrase “I Really Don't Care. Do U?” on the back as she returns to Washington from a visit to the US-Mexico border area in Texas at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

‘I really don’t care’: Melania Trump’s jacket stuns on migrant visit

Melania Trump surprised the world by visiting child migrants on the US-Mexico border on Thursday – but it was her choice of clothing for the trip that stunned the internet: a jacket emblazoned with the words “I really don’t care, do U?”

A tone-deaf sartorial decision – or a hidden message from the first lady? And if so, to whom?

The images of Melania Trump sporting the olive green khaki jacket as she boarded a flight to Texas – which immediately went viral – surfaced as the White House struggles to calm international anger over the practice of splitting migrant children from their parents.

Asked about the military-style jacket with large white brush-style lettering – apparently sold for US$39 at Zara, according to Daily Mail which first spotted the odd choice of outfit – the first lady’s spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said “there was no hidden message.”
First lady Melania Trump arrives at Andrews Air Force Base on Thursday, after visiting the Upbring New Hope Children Center run by the Lutheran Social Services of the South in McAllen, Texas. Photo: AP

“It’s a jacket,” Grisham said. “After today’s important visit to Texas, I hope the media isn’t going to choose to focus on her wardrobe.”

“#SheCares #ItsJustAJacket” Grisham tweeted later on, as speculation swirled online.

US President Donald Trump later had a different take. The slogan “refers to the Fake News Media. Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares!”, he tweeted.

By the time she arrived in McAllen, Texas the first lady had changed out of the controversial garment into a cream button-up safari-style jacket.

Melania Trump’s unannounced trip to a youth shelter for migrants and a border patrol processing centre came one day after President Donald Trump made a sudden decision to end the practice of splitting immigrant families that has left more than 2,300 minors separate from their parents or guardians.

Images and recordings of distressed children held in enclosures akin to cages have sparked global fury.

The first lady herself called for political compromise to end the stripping of children from their parents – the result of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy against illegal border crossings, in effect since May.

It was not the first time Melania Trump raised eyebrows for her fashion choices when out in the field: last year she wore needle-thin high stiletto heels to observe the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: First lady’s jacket spurs questions
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