First Lady Melania Trump at President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025 (Photo by Greg … [+] Nash-Pool/Getty Images)
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“Where in the world is Melania Trump” was a question some asked during the 2024 presidential campaign as the then-former First Lady was largely absent from public view. When she showed up for President Donald Trump’s second inauguration on Monday, the question was asked again because her choice of outfit quickly earned comparisons to the fictional video game villain Carmen Sandiego.
The First Lady arrived at the White House wearing a long navy blue coat by New York-based designer Adam Lippes, and a wide-brimmed “statement hat” by Eric Javits. New York magazine described the ensemble as “Carmen Sandiego found at a funeral.”
On social media, Melina Trump’s choice of wardrobe was discussed as much online as the speech given by President Trump.
“ABC trumpeted Melania Trump’s return to D.C. with the headline, ‘Melania Trump returns in style on Inauguration Day,'” explained Susan Campbell, distinguished lecturer in the Communications, Film and Media Studies Department at the University of New Haven.
“So if the commentary on social media is increasingly banal and beside the point, some outlets in the legacy media are leading the way,” added Campbell.
Real-Time Critiques Of First Lady Fashion
Throughout the history of the United States, the choice of wardrobe from some First Ladies has been remembered almost as much as the policies of their respective husbands. That certainly includes First Lady Abigail Smith Adams, wife of President John Adams, who was noted at the time for rejecting the popular French style of the era; and First Lady Dolley Madison, who “was often criticized for showing a little more cleavage than usual for the times,” Marie Clarie explained.
Yet, we don’t know for an absolute fact what either Mrs. Adams or Mrs. Madison wore during the respective inaugurations. Accounts from the day barely made any mention of their fashion choices.
It wasn’t until 1857 that President James Buchanan’s inauguration ceremony was the first to be photographed—and even then it was from such a distance that it is anyone’s guess where exactly he is standing. It should be noted too that as Buchanan was a lifelong bachelor, while his niece Harriet Rebecca Lane filled the role of First Lady, but were she is in the photo is anyone’s guess.
Only in the modern era, beginning with First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy has such attention been paid to the outfit choices during the inauguration. Today, the fashions of the First Lady receive even more scrutiny than Adams, Smith, or most of the others who served in the role before the era of TV, and now social media.
Thanks to X, Facebook, TikTok, and the other social platforms, we get instant reactions not just from fashion writers, but the world at large.
Channeling Carmen Sandiego
Critics were quite vocal on Monday, but it was hardly the first time.
Mrs. Trump is no stranger to fashion controversy, yet, her choice of outfit on Monday will likely be remembered forever for so resembling the title character from the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego game and PBS animated series.
“Initially, it struck me as something almost appropriate for a funeral. If the color had been black instead of dark blue, it certainly would be the case,” suggested Scott Talan, assistant professor of Public Relations & Strategic Communication at American University in Washington, D.C.
“The other thing that struck me was her hat, where you really cannot see her eyes,” Talan added. “I think this is very intentional, in many ways wishing she was somewhere else, perhaps, and not letting people see her eyes and looking under the rim out when she wants to, being in control of her visual sight lines.”
Talan added that he doesn’t find the comparisons that unexpected, as pop culture references are common on social media. If if many users on social media, especially those who either didn’t grow up in the 1990s or had kids who did, may have never even heard of the fictional Sandiego, they will know the character now!
Thanks to Mrs. Trump’s absence from the spotlight, the title of the game, and the choice of outfit on Monday, it almost seem the perfect setup for the memes and online jokes that quickly made the rounds.
“It is funny in the sense that we’re in the world because she was not around the campaign, and now she’s back,” explained Talan. “This very, very distinctive outfit, which is not the first time, nor will be the last time with her.”
Finally, at least a few users on social media didn’t see Sandiego at all—they noted a similarity to MAD magazine’s “Spy Vs. Spy.” Perhaps, the First Lady is hoping for a larger role in the White House. Is she gunning for Director of National Intelligence?
