Melania Trump's 'I Don't Care' Jacket Was A Message For Ivanka Not The Press, New Book Claims
Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump's alleged rivalry during Donald Trump's term is featured in a new book.
Melania and Ivanka play significant roles in Donald Trump's life, especially during his presidency. However, there was an overlap between the two women in the White House complex, and the tensions were so bad that they planned separate trips to Africa, and then-White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had to intervene.
Melania allegedly made her feelings about Ivanka known through her infamous jacket, according to Katie Rogers in her upcoming book "American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden."
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trmp (C) and his family (L-R) son Donald Trump Jr, son Eric Trummp, wife Melania Trump and daughters Tiffany Trump and Ivanka Trump cut the ribbon at the new Trump International Hotel October 26, 2016 in Washington, DC.
Melania reportedly "did not think that it was appropriate for Trump's children to be enmeshed in White House operations," according to Rogers, per Daily Mail. However, she didn't get her own way. Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, both served as advisers in the West Wing. Trump's sons, Donald Jr. and Eric advised the Trump campaign and were present on the campaign trail."
And so Melania wore her infamous "I really don't care, do you?" jacket, which the Trump administration officials told Rodgers was a message directed at "the Trumps -- specifically, the president's eldest daughter, Ivanka."
President Donald Trump embraces First Lady Melania Trump as daughter Ivanka Trump looks on after his inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC.
Melania wore the jacket in June 2018 when she boarded an Air Force flight to visit the migrant children who got separated from their parents when they crossed the border at the Upbring New Hope Children's Shelter in McAllen, Texas.
Melania received an intense backlash for her outfit at the time. Several accused her of being tone-deaf for wearing such a jacket during a visit to immigrant kids.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (C) walks off stage as (L-R) Eric Trump, Lara Yunaska, Vanessa Trump, Melania Trump, businessman Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Vanessa Trump look on after the third U.S. presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on October 19, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Melania was an immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 2006. She persuaded her husband to issue an executive order stopping the administration's policy of separating families at the border.
According to Stephanie Grisham, Melania's former top aide, when they returned to the White House from the trip, Trump pulled her and his wife to the Oval Office and "yelled at them, and then decided that the official explanation for the jacket would be that Melania was speaking directly to the media."
Melania later spoke to ABC News and explained that the message was "for the people and for the left-wing media who are criticizing me."
U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump is introduced by his daughter and White House senior adviser, Ivanka Trump, as he prepares to deliver his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination on the South Lawn of the White House August 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump gave the speech in front of 1500 invited guests.
"I want to show them that I don't care. You could criticize whatever you want to say, but it will not stop me to do what I feel is right," Melania explained.
"It's obvious I didn't wear the jacket for the children," she added. "I wore the jacket to go on the plane and off the plane. After the visit, I put it back on because I see how [the] media got obsessed about it."
