White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham criticized the media for what she described as a pattern of attacks directed at first lady Melania Trump during the holiday season.
The remarks stem from fashion pieces in the Washington Post that were critical of Trump’s outfit and her Christmas decorations around the White House.
“It has become an annual holiday tradition for the media to attack all that the First Lady does. If this was a Democratic Administration, I suspect Mrs. Trump and her work would be featured positively in every mainstream news outlet,” Grisham told Brian Flood of Fox News in response to the Washington Post‘s story.
The outlet’s fashion critic, Robin Givhan, wrote a scathing article specifically attacking the coat that the first lady wore during a video of her decorating the White House. She called the over-the-shoulder coat “ridiculous” and claimed it “exudes cold, dismissive aloofness.” Givhan also suggested that the style, one she wears frequently, “seems to be a crutch” used as a way to avoid “having to be fully present.”
Trump adorned the same type of outfit during the 2018 Christmas decorations visit.
The decorations in the White House include glass panels featuring images of snow-covered trees in the East Colonnade. The official White House Christmas tree, which is 18-feet tall, sits in the Blue Room, while the State Dining Room is home to a massive gingerbread replica of the White House, Mount Rushmore, and the Liberty Bell, among other U.S. landmarks.
[Previous coverage: Give Melania Trump a break — the White House Christmas decorations are elegant]
