Melania's Promo Of Latest Cash Grabs Keeps Getting Lazier

Preferring to stay on the sidelines, Melania Trump has been absent from the campaign trail as her husband, Donald Trump, tries to change his title from "former president" back to "current commander-in-chief." She graciously appeared onstage as he accepted the GOP nomination at the Republican National Convention, but declined to give a speech. In recent weeks, Melania has become more visible in a series of online videos promoting her upcoming book, "Melania." Yet even this is coming off as a halfhearted effort, as she reads snippets from the memoir. Melania defended her failed White House garden project, suggested the assassination attempt against Trump was an inside job, and talked about the joys of motherhood, all with an unblinking gaze to the camera and a flat delivery.

The former first lady's latest postings have been even less inspiring. On September 22, she posted a new clip to Instagram about the time in 2020 when she was evacuated to the White House's underground bunker for protection as a Black Lives Matter protest reached Pennsylvania Avenue. The video's dark lighting — only half her face was lit — and soft filter gave the impression of a rush job, and Melania's reading didn't help. She described feeling "a jolt through my body" as the Secret Service knocked at her door, but she sounded more like she was reading off a grocery list. Meidas Touch's Ron Filipkowski reposted the clip on X (formerly Twitter), prompting a follower to ask: "Does anyone else feel like these videos are AI? They seem so off." Replied another, "I just wonder why she can't afford proper lighting." Still others felt the events Melania described paled next to others in which her husband was involved. "Yeah, well, the jolt I felt when I read [Trump] stole our classified intel was probably a lot more severe," went one snark.

When Melania Trump isn't teasing portions of her new book, she's pitching her own merch — another off-putting aspect of her social media feed. Her somber black-and-white video about being rushed away from the scene of a protest came just a day after the former FLOTUS debuted her 2024 Christmas ornament collection, titled "Merry Christmas, AMERICA!" The brass pendants range in price from $75 to $90. 

Her attempt at festivity struck many as being hollow. Memories of Melania's White House Christmas décor (those red trees! that chilly lighting!) are still vivid in the public's mind. Critics were also quick to remind Melania of the infamous time she complained about having to supervise the decorating. "For a mere $90 you too can have a cheap ornament from someone who hated decorating the White House on Christmas," joked a commenter on Instagram. Another chimed in, "Don't want a President or First Lady that better suited to selling on QVC than leading the USA."

Melania's "I really don't care" attitude is also evident in the design of the "Love & Freedom" ornament. It's the identical design she used for her Mother's Day "Her Love & Gratitude" necklace just months earlier: a three-leaf clover with engraving. But the ornament is considerably cheaper than the pendant, and an absolute bargain as compared to her other new necklace, the $600 "Vote Freedom" modeled after a vintage coin. Exclaimed an X user: "Wasn't she on tape saying she hates Christmas! $100 per ornament? Really. People will pay that. I'm in the wrong business. I need to start marketing to MAGA."