The media maelstrom surrounding a jacket Melania Trump donned to visit children detained at the Texas-Mexico border yesterday sees no signs of abating. Now, celebrities and fashion brands are responding to the first lady with their own messages of “I care.”
WATCH BELOW: Melania Trump’s ‘I really don’t care’ jacket raises eyebrows on visit to migrant children
On Thursday, Trump made a last-minute decision to travel to Texas to meet with immigrant children who had been separated from their families at the border. Inexplicably, the ex-model chose to wear a military-inspired jacket with the phrase “I really don’t care, do u?” scrawled across the back en route to her destination. Photographers snapped her in the jacket as she was boarding a plane in Maryland. She then changed en route to her final destination.
Many were outraged by the jacket, calling it “tone deaf” and immediately took to social media to express their displeasure. But over the course of the evening, others, including celebrities and designers took the time to create their own pieces of clothing with the slogan “I care,” including actress Busy Phillips and fashion brands Lingua Franca and Wildfang.
Although the first lady’s spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham, was quick to say that her jacket didn’t hold a “hidden message,” President Donald Trump tweeted later in the day that it was a missive meant for the media.
Despite the fact that the first lady works with stylist Hervé Pierre, when asked about the debacle as he was en route to Paris to present his Atelier Caito for Hervé Pierre collection to European buyers, he said that he had never seen the jacket before. (Considering Trump is known for her proclivity for the latest designer fashions by the likes of Gucci, Dior and Dolce & Gabbana, one would think that a two-year-old, $39 Zara creation would stick out like a sore thumb in her wardrobe.)
READ MORE: Melania Trump says she ‘hates’ seeing families separated at U.S.-Mexican border
This isn’t the first time Trump has caused waves with her choice of outfit. Last summer, as she and her husband were en route to visit victims of Hurricane Harvey, she was criticized for boarding a plane wearing stilettos. Vanity Fair said her shoes screamed “Who’s in for brunch?” and the tongue-in-cheek term “hurricane heels” took flight. She later changed into sneakers for their arrival in Texas.
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Yesterday, as she flew back to Washington, the first lady once again changed into her controversial jacket. Clearly, she doesn’t check Twitter as often as her husband does.