Why Melania Trump's Prince Philip Tribute Is Causing Controversy
Oops. She did it again. No, not pop icon Britney Spears. We're talking about former first lady Melania Trump who has once again landed herself in a pot of boiling hot water. Unless you're new here, you'll likely recall that Trump found herself in the midst of controversy time and time again while serving as FLOTUS. If you're unfamiliar with the first lady's past high-profile missteps, we invite you to learn more about them here.
Recently Trump made headlines again after making what appears to be a well-intentioned statement offering her condolences and sympathy to the royal family as they grieve the loss of Prince Philip. As reported by VozWire, eyebrows were immediately raised when Trump took to Twitter on April 9, 2021, to pen a message that read, "President Trump and I extend our deepest condolences to Her Majesty the Queen, the Royal Family, and the people of Great Britain as the world mourns the loss of Prince Philip." Key words here being "President Trump." Open mouth, insert supermodel foot.
While it's still customary to address past presidents by "President," due to the way in which Donald Trump's final days in office played out (read: attack on the United States Capitol in which many blame the former president for inciting), referring to her husband as "President" didn't sit well with many. Keep reading to learn how the masses reacted to the tweet in question and why there may be more to the controversy than just this particular message.
Melania Trump's tweet was met with swift backlash
As one can imagine, after referring to her husband as "President Trump" in a now viral tweet, Melania Trump was swiftly met with backlash with many coming out of the proverbial woodwork to let the former first lady know how they really felt about her particular choice of words and let's just say, it wasn't pretty...
"You mean former president, twice impeached," one Twitter user quickly fired back at the former FLOTUS. Another user alluded to possible amnesia on the former first lady's part. "Ooops little memory loss there Melania. Comes to us all."
Another user, however, appeared to give Trump the benefit of the doubt while offering up a bit of sage advice. "That is kind of you to acknowledge it, but please don't refer to your husband in the present tense as 'President', it would have been so much better to say 'my husband and I," they wrote.
Still another Twitter user opted to defuse the situation with a bit of humor. "The Queen is thinking: 'Is he that annoying orange thing that walked in front of me once?' Inside she laughs," they penned.
Some users did come to Trump's defense pointing out that it is very common to acknowledge a past President as "President." "All presidents, prior or current, keep the title of President!" one user wrote.
Meanwhile, we can only imagine that somewhere in sunny Florida, an exasperated Mrs. Trump is once again reminded of the old adage, "no good deed goes unpunished."
The Trumps don't exactly have the best track record with the royals
Perhaps, however, Melania Trump's public tweet of support to the royal family after the Duke of Edinburgh's passing ruffles feathers for another reason. Could it have something to do with her husband's sordid past with the royals? In short: maybe.
One twitter user even referenced the perceived iciness between the two parties in a tweet that read, "What's the matter, the Queen didn't take your phone call so you had to Tweet this?"
As reported by Town & Country, Donald Trump's relationship with the royals has long been fraught with controversy. Lest we forget the time he referred to Meghan Markle as "nasty," or the time he blamed Kate Middleton for the paparazzi leaking nude photos of her sunbathing. "Kate Middleton is great–but she shouldn't be sunbathing in the nude–only herself to blame," he famously tweeted.
It's also been long rumored that the former president tried to court Princess Diana fresh on the heels of her divorce from Prince Charles, even sending her a barrage of flowers that eventually caused her to confess that he gave her "the creeps." Trump himself even appears to back up those claims to a degree in his book, The Art of the Comeback, in which he wrote "I only have one regret in the women department — that I never had the opportunity to court Lady Diana Spencer," per People.
The one that got away, eh? Sounds like it.