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Topics: Melania Trump, Donald Trump, Politics, US News
Lucy Devine
Topics: Melania Trump, Donald Trump, Politics, US News
US President Donald Trump has responded to the conspiracy theories about Melania Trump having a 'body double'.
While the conspiracy has been circulating for years now, it's recently picked up the pace since Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president in January.
According to social media users, the bizarre theory suggests that Melania has shunned public appearances and a body double actress has been hired to stand in her place.
Analysing various appearances over the years, one person wrote online: "Has there been another sitting President in the Televisual age that’s been quite so brazen as to use a body double of the First Lady on the campaign trail? I think not. Up their with my favourite conspiracy theories. The evidence is well... compelling. "
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Another claimed: "We know this isn't Melania because Melania doesn't smile."
Someone else theorised: "Way way too cozy. Melania doesn’t let trump touch her. It was a body double. Dead giveaway also the trench coat and sunglasses."
While the conspiracy theorists usually emerge after Melania's public events, Trump himself has previously commented on the theory, explaining it's only becoming more extreme as time goes on.
In 2019, he said in a tweet that photos of his wife had been altered to make it look like she had been replaced by a look-alike when they went to survey tornado damage, stating: “The Fake News photoshopped pictures of Melania, then propelled conspiracy theories that it’s actually not her by my side in Alabama and other places. They are only getting more deranged with time!”
It was spoken about on The View where contributor Ana Navarro-Cardenas said: “Let’s have fun with Melania. She’s beautiful, and we’re doing this in jest.”
Abby Huntsman, a Republican asked: “Does that make it better?”
To this, co-host Joy Behar, said: “We’re not here to be better people. We’re here to have a good laugh.”
In response, Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s spokeswoman, explained that the episode ‘went beyond the petty mean-girl spirit that we’ve grown accustomed to’.
“People died, people lost family, people are hurting in Alabama,” Grisham said in an email as per AP. “I personally watched the president and first lady hug, listen to and comfort people who had lost everything - and the ‘ladies’ of The View instead chose to laugh and joke about a body-double conspiracy.”
Most recently, social media users took aim at Melania's attendance at the late Pope Francis' funeral, which took place over the weekend on Saturday (26 April).
Melania could be seen wearing a black blazer dress with a veil covering her face.
However, some people on social media were adamant that the woman in attendance wasn't Melania.