Melania Trump has come under fire after revealing her surprise new business venture as her husband seeks a second term as president: Christmas decorations.
The former first lady, who once criticized the holiday season while in the White House, debuted her new ornament collection, “Merry Christmas, AMERICA!”, on social media Saturday.
“Each unique piece captures the magic of the holiday season. Let these ornaments inspire cherished memories and bring warmth to your entire family,” read their ad on X.
The ornaments, which are named “USA Star,” “Vote Liberty,” “Let It Snow” and “Love & Freedom,” cost between $75 and $90. The entrepreneur’s foray into Christmas decorating has sparked a backlash online.
In 2018, Melania was recorded expressing her frustration with getting the White House into the holiday spirit, saying, “You know, who cares about Christmas stuff and decorations?”
Melania Trump has been criticised after revealing her new Christmas decoration business
The former first lady announced her new collection of ornaments on Saturday, titled ‘Merry Christmas, AMERICA!’
When former President Donald Trump was in office, Melania decorated the White House with balsam fir trees dripping with icicles, something social media users found eerie and chilling.
In 2018, she decorated the East Colonnade with 40 bold blood-red trees and placed 14,000 red ornaments throughout the White House.
Although his office stated that red symbolized “courage and bravery,” the decorations quickly earned the nickname “killer trees,” prompting a wave of memes, public backlash and accusations of being “un-American.”
One One X user wrote: ‘We all know what you REALLY think about Christmas,’ referring to her leaked comments about Christmas decorations in 2018.
“The first family to scam their own followers,” said another.
“You’re always trying to sell something. Damn, girl. Trump has you out here on the street to pay his legal bills,” Nurses for a Better Missouri posted on X.
Others defended the former first lady. Kellyanne Conway, for example, said she missed Melania Trump hosting Christmas events at the White House compared to the way Jill Biden decorated.
“It was done with great taste,” he said.
Melania’s self-promotion of her embellishments comes after the former first lady referenced her controversial redesign of the White House Rose Garden in a recent post promoting her upcoming book, omitting any mention of the public backlash it received.
The ornaments, which are called ‘USA Star,’ ‘Vote Liberty,’ ‘Let It Snow’ and ‘Love & Freedom,’ cost between $75 and $90.
While her controversial husband Donald Trump was in office, Melania decorated the White House with balsam fir trees dripping with icicles, which social media users found eerie and chilling.
On Friday, she shared details about the redesign of her X account as part of a series of unusual snippets ahead of the release of her book.
Previous posts included defenses of her early nude modeling photographs, featuring images of Michelangelo’s David.
This time, she highlighted the dramatic 2020 makeover she led for the garden as part of a multi-day marketing effort amid her husband’s campaign to reclaim the White House.
Presidential historian and author Michael Beschloss was among critics who publicly condemned the project, which involved removing mature dogwoods and replacing them with new flowers and shrubs arranged in a rigid pattern.
A year after the redesign was revealed, Beschloss criticized the concept, stating: “The evisceration of the White House Rose Garden was completed one year ago this month, and here is the grim result: decades of American history erased.”
In a rare move, the former first lady responded online. She noted that the photo Beschloss shared in her tweet showed the garden in its early stages. She followed up with a more recent image of the rose garden, now in full bloom with pink and white flowers.
“@BeschlossDC has demonstrated their ignorance by displaying a photograph of the rose garden in its early days. The rose garden is now adorned with a healthy and colorful bloom of roses,” their office tweeted.
