Also, what the hell is this?

[conuly]

Michelle Obama wasn't even able to wear shorts on vacation without a shitshow, and this is okay? WTF.

Comments

[wendelah1]

It's not okay. It's thoughtless at best, cruel at worst. My husband thinks that it wasn't her idea--that Trump ordered her to wear it because she publicly criticized his immigration policy. It was probably Steve Miller's idea. Doesn't it feel like it was designed to make people angry and be a distraction?

[siderea]

No, no. It's much, much worse than cruel.

It was one of Mussolini's slogans.

[conuly]

I thought that was "Drain the swamp".

Okay, one time can be a coincidence, but twice starts to look like a pattern. Can I just jump ahead to the conclusion of "enemy action" without waiting for a third slogan to pop up?

[wendelah1]

Thank you. I don't know your source so I'll need to wait for further confirmation from sources I do know and trust.

[conuly]

They're discussing it over at We Hunted the Mammoth and somebody in the comments produced this link, which predates the jacket, citing that as a fascist quote: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/feb/22/casapound-italy-mussolini-fascism-mainstream

(Their conclusion at WHTM, incidentally, is that given the style of that jacket in comparison to what she normally wears, and the fact that it was out of season, that there's a good chance she was basically strongarmed into wearing it. I don't know if I agree with that or not, though I do agree that, despicable messaging (even without potential dogwhistles!) aside, it does look like an odd choice of garment for Melania Trump.)

[agoodwinsmith]

I have tried to find a source for this - do you have one you can share?

[siderea]

That's a link. Did you click it? And through to the linked information?

[agoodwinsmith]

Thank you. Yes, I missed it, I'm sorry. It doesn't show up as a link in the colour scheme here.

That is fascinating, thank you.

I think it is a bit of a stretch - the original slogan is "I don't care" regarding the non-carer dying on a battlefield, and the Melania jacket doesn't seem to be about her indifference to her own death. It feels like we're trying to give a childish action more gravitas than it deserves. It definitely has echoes, though.

[agoodwinsmith]

Update - saw something else which detailed Melania's background and that she grew up in a city occupied by Fascist Italy, and she speaks Italian, so there is no way she wouldn't get the connection to the slogan. I am still beyond boggled that anyone would be so childish, but there you are, eh?