Melania Trump's Ego Is Somehow Bigger Than Donald's At Jimmy Carter's Funeral (Of All Places)

Former president Jimmy Carter died on December 29, 2024, and his state funeral occurred on January 9, 2025. Ahead of this solemn occasion, President Joe Biden declared the day of the funeral a national day of mourning, a practice that is routinely followed to honor past presidents. Carter's memorial service also served as an opportunity for living chief executives and first ladies to spend time together. Joe and Jill Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, George W. and Laura Bush, Donald and Melania Trump, and Barack Obama all sat near each other at the event. Michelle Obama generated headlines since she wasn't able to attend due to scheduling issues.

Meanwhile, Melania had already stood out from the crowd the evening before when she and Donald visited the Capitol. She smiled as reporters asked her husband about his feelings regarding his upcoming presidential term. Melania shifted to a more somber expression as she and Donald stood in front of Carter's flag-draped coffin, before offering her husband a brief smile as he spoke to her and they walked away.

During the funeral, Melania boosted her ego further by drawing more attention to herself via her outfit. While she wore a plain black coat for the viewing, she swapped it for a black coat with a prominent white collar. Some viewers found the choice unnecessarily disruptive. "Did Melania grab a choir robe on the way into church?" joked one poster on X (formerly Twitter). "The collar shape makes her look like a Pilgrim," ribbed another.

Jokes aside, Melania Trump's attire at Jimmy Carter's funeral really put her in the spotlight. Viewers were intrigued by the massive lapel's design, which appeared to stretch around the back and was different on both sides. While some thought the design was merely abstract, others saw it as another Melania outfit that meant more than people realized. 

The right side looks like a person in an old-fashioned military dress with epaulets, and it caused one individual to recall the distant presidential past as they speculated it could be a picture of former president Theodore Roosevelt. "Solidarity w fellow Rough Rider Teddy, Panama Canal builder?" mused one person on X (formerly Twitter). This connects to comments Donald Trump made two days before Carter's memorial. While Donald complimented the late president as an individual, he criticized Carter's policies involving its ownership. "Nobody wants to talk about the Panama Canal now, it's inappropriate I guess, because it's a bad part of the Carter legacy," he asserted during a press conference (via Politico). "Giving the Panama Canal to Panama was a very big mistake."

Whether Melania's outfit contained a deeper significance or not, it isn't the first time she has been called out for her funeral attire. In 2023, Melania's gray tweed coat caused a stir at Rosalynn Carter's memorial service. Although it was dress code appropriate, it was a jarring contrast amid the dark black of the other first ladies' outfits. Melania's former advisor, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, even accused her former employer of using the event as an attention grab.