Many believe she would not wear such a coat by accident, especially on a hot day.
As Melania Trump’s jacket has made international headlines, was the odd choice of outerwear a message to the media or simply a fashion faux pas?
The first lady’s wore the coat Thursday as she departed Washington to visit children detained and separated from their parents at the border, leaving TV personalities and the internet scratching their heads.
All of the pundits for the major news outlets like MSNBC, CNN and Fox News all seemed perplexed by the $39 military jacket from Zara, with “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” written on the back.
Her choice of jacket also outraged many on social media.
In response to the outrage, her spokeswoman said, "It's a jacket. There was no hidden message."
But the president contradicted her, tweeting: "'I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?' written on the back of Melania's jacket, refers to the fake news media. Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares!"
Others questioned why her handlers wouldn't try to talk her out of wearing it, knowing it would probably stoke controversy.
"It is unclear what the first lady thought the response would be," Mary Jordan, a national correspondent for The Washington Post, said of the jacket. "The secret service saw it, someone on her staff. Didn't someone warn her?"
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