Melania Trump Is Facing Fresh Backlash

Melania Trump is facing a fresh round of criticism on social media over a years-old secret recording of her saying "Who gives a f*** about Christmas stuff?"

Trump was first lady from 2017 to 2021 and, as part of her duties, unveiled the annual White House Christmas decorations. But a recording of the former model complaining about the task proved controversial when it was released in 2020.

"Give me a f****** break. I'm working like a—my a** off at Christmas stuff that, you know, who gives a f*** about Christmas stuff and decorations?" she said during a conversation about media criticism of her.

"But I need to do it, right? Correct?"

The recording was released in October 2020 by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former friend and aide who wrote a book called Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship With the First Lady.

The conversation between the two women had reportedly taken place in June 2018, after Trump had visited an immigration detention facility in Texas—and been criticized for wearing a jacket with the slogan "I really don't care, do U?"

Trump said on the tape that she was accused of not doing enough in her role and added: "OK, and then I do it. And I say that I'm working on Christmas, planning for Christmas. And they said, 'Ooh what about the children, that they were separated?' Give me a f****** break. Were they were saying anything when [former President Barack] Obama did that?"

In a statement issued after the release of the tape, Trump said her comment was taken "out of context" and dismissed Wolkoff's book as "idle gossip trying to distort my character."

Stephanie Grisham, then the first lady's chief of staff, said: "Secretly taping the first lady and willfully breaking an NDA [non-disclosure agreement] to publish a salacious book is a clear attempt at relevance. The timing of this continues to be suspect—as does this never-ending exercise in self-pity and narcissism."

Three years later, however, Trump is again being criticized for her views on Christmas decorating.

The latest backlash began on X, formerly Twitter, after Donald Trump suggested at a rally in Iowa that department stores were refusing to use the word Christmas before his term in the White House.

The former president, who is campaigning for the Republican nomination in 2024, said in early October: "By the way, remember Christmas, by the way? We brought back 'Merry Christmas.' Nobody fights it anymore.

"One of the first things I said in 2015, actually, when I was campaigning, I said, we will bring back 'Merry Christmas.' Because these woke department stores, they didn't want to use the word Christmas. And they use the word Christmas now."

A video of his comments, posted on X on October 16, prompted one commenter to reply by sharing a portion of the Melania Trump secret recording, alongside the caption "Who [gives a f***] about the Christmas stuff" and a sarcastic #JoyToTheWorld hashtag.

Another X commenter recalled the red topiary trees used to decorate the White House in 2018. At the time, critics suggested they looked like the capes from The Handmaid's Tale, the TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel.

"Who can forget the blood red scene from The Shining she put up? Red room," the X user wrote.

Since the recording resurfaced, criticism of Melania Trump has continued to roll in. On Monday one Democrat-supporting X account asked users if they agreed that she was the "worst First Lady we have ever had."

"She SUCKED!" said one reply. "She does not deserve all the privileges that comes with being First Lady. She didn't really care. I heard a recording of her complaining about decorating for Christmas at the White House. Melania said to her friend, I hate this Christmas stuff."

In another conversation on X this week, a user wrote: "It appears Melania wasn't having it with all the work required to do the Christmas decorating. Isn't that one of only a couple official jobs as First Lady—decorating?"

Another commented: "Melania hates f****** Christmas and she doesn't care, do you"— another reference to the jacket she wore in 2018.

Grisham, who has since been publicly critical of the Trumps, told Newsweek at the time there was "no hidden message" in the jacket.

Some social media users were more forgiving of the former first lady.

"Sorry but Melania's rant about the Christmas decorations in the White House is so funny," wrote one on Monday. "She was real for that and only that."

Another said it was one of their favorite memories of "Melania's classy [White House] Christmas."

In a 2021 speech in Dallas, Donald Trump hit out at critics of his wife's displays. "She would make the most beautiful Christmas decorations," he said. "And I remember she made these magnificent red trees, and the media said, 'Oh, that's terrible.' I said, 'Honey, next time, try white.'

"She made magnificent—remember, the most beautiful you've ever seen—white trees. And they said, 'Oh, that's terrible.' I said, the next time, 'Let's do it more traditional. Let's go with green.'

"We went with beautiful green trees, and they said, 'Why wouldn't you make them white like they used to be?'

"But I'll tell you what, she's loved all over, and she's got a tremendous heart, and she says hello."