Former First Lady Melania Trump has once again addressed her controversial “I don’t care, do u?” jacket in her upcoming memoir, claiming her press secretary prevented her from revealing the true meaning behind the garment during its initial controversy.
According to a report by The Guardian, Melania’s jacket, worn during a visit to a migrant detention centre at the US-Mexico border in 2018, was intended as a “discreet yet impactful” message to the media, which had recently criticised her. However, the choice of attire quickly sparked widespread backlash and debate about her intentions.
Upon boarding the plane after the tour, Melania recounted how her then-press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, was inundated with urgent emails from significant media outlets questioning the jacket’s message. “It’s a message for the media,” Melania claimed she said at the time, expressing that she wanted to convey her indifference toward the media’s opinions. However, Grisham reportedly told her she couldn’t know that and instead characterised it as merely a fashion choice with no more profound significance.
“I disagreed with her insistence that I couldn’t say that,” Melania reflected in her memoir. “Ignoring my comments, she told a CNN reporter she was friendly with that it was simply a jacket.”
Melania expressed frustration that the media frenzy surrounding the $39 jacket detracted from the significant issues, stating it overshadowed “the importance of the children, the border, and the policy change” and exemplified “the media’s irresponsible behaviour.”
Grisham also addressed the jacket controversy in her 2021 memoir, claiming that Donald Trump prompted Melania’s idea to wear the jacket. Grisham recalled that upon their return to the White House, Trump chastised them and told Melania, “You just tell them you were talking to the f–king press.”
Since resigning as Melania’s chief of staff in 2021, Grisham has become an outspoken critic of the Trump family, further complicating the narrative around the jacket incident. Melania had previously stated in an ABC News interview shortly after the incident that her choice was a protest against the “left-wing media” for their criticism.
