Trump Staffer Tricia McLaughlin Has Worn Some Tasteless Outfits

With President Donald Trump surrounding himself with Melania Trump look-alikes, his White House staff has certainly begun to skew much, much younger. This includes frumpy White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the always glammed-out Alina Habba, and now newcomer Tricia McLaughlin. Similar to Leavitt, McLaughlin is still in her 20s, and she was also a senior advisor for a presidential candidate in 2024 named Vivek Ramaswamy. Of course, the women have more in common than their career trajectories because McLaughlin, like Leavitt, also has a penchant for wearing some tasteless outfits.

In a break from how most millennials and Gen Z present themselves to the world, McLaughlin has a stunningly small amount of social media history that includes selfies. For the most part, she's using her sharp political communication tools to make television appearances and post on X, formerly known as Twitter. As the assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, McLaughlin will inevitably spend more time in the spotlight. Plus, with the current secretary, Kristi Noem, losing her purse at a restaurant and potentially posing a serious security risk, McLaughlin might also find herself getting a promotion soon. Hopefully, she can learn from these five examples of when her outfits didn't hit the mark before climbing further up the ladder.

To celebrate Mardi Gras, Tricia McLaughlin went down to the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana. Although her Instagram post about it was slightly confusing with the caption,"Courage, perseverance & dedication." What was also confusing was the outfit McLaughlin chose to wear for the occasion.

The oversized jersey long sleeve tee was a staple of many an antagonistic older brother in the 1990s, but seeing it in the wilds of 2017 feels shockingly out of place. Plus, wearing such heavy fabric in New Orleans is sure to become too stifling and hot throughout the day. Hopefully McLaughlin and pal stayed hydrated.

In an Instagram post from December 2017, Tricia McLaughlin and friend Emily Pattillo performed the ritual many 20-somethings participate in: donning an ugly sweater for the holiday season. However, whereas the fun of these types of parties is finding a truly hideous specimen to wear, what McLaughlin and her friend opted to do was, "Literally advertising to the world that we don't have boyfriends."

Buying matching sweaters could be cute, but it feels try-hard here. Plus, wearing them as a dress with the knee-high boots just feels dated in a bad way.

To ring in a new year, Tricia McLaughlin and gal pal Emily Pattillo got gussied up in some sparkles, as seen in this Instagram post. However, even with all that flare, McLaughlin's outfit still doesn't quite nail the landing. The plunging neckline and bell bottom cut should make this an overly fun outfit, but the possibly sheer pattern and lack of jewelry makes the whole thing feel eerie. It's giving off-brand Benson Boone, which isn't a good thing. McLaughlin shouldn't be taking any style tips from the "Beautiful Things" singer, especially since Boone landed on the worst-dressed list for Coachella 2025.

While at first glance this outfit worn by Tricia McLaughlin might not appear overly inappropriate, but the timeline during which it took place does put some controversial things into perspective. According to McLaughlin's Instagram post, this photo of her in nature was taken on November 1, 2020. The caption simply states, "around the world in 13 days," and the other photo in the carousel shows her and several others socially distancing before boarding a private jet.

Of course McLaughlin is appropriately dressed for an excursion in nature, but doing so at a time when many were following lock down orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic feels tone deaf. Showing off that she's traveling and possibly making a joke about safety precautions in the second photo is most likely how McLaughlin found herself in Donald Trump's ego-boosting administration, but might have difficulty finding acceptance elsewhere.

Clearly a fan of the Christmas season, Tricia McLaughlin once again made an Instagram post in 2023, offering a retrospective of the year. With the caption, "Grateful for a very bizarre year," McLaughlin showed off a series of photos that honestly made it hard to choose just one outfit from. However, this one certainly seems to nail all the ways in which she tries to pair humor and professionalism, and fails.

First of all, the tacky fake leather pants (leggings?) are not it. When combined with the oversized puffy black vest and sunglasses being worn inside, McLaughlin seems to think she's pulling off a cool and carefree vibe, when in fact it simply appears that she had a rough morning and is riding out a hangover in last night's clothes. It's a reminder not to take life advice from the controversial Pete Hegseth.