Of All Melania Trump's Looks, This One Stands Above The Rest

Like many first ladies, during Melania Trump's time in the position, she chose clothing that was both fashionable, classy, and understated. But there was one time she blatantly wanted to make a statement and when she did, she dominated a news cycle and created countless headlines about her choice of outerwear.

The year was 2018 and the first lady was making a trip to the U.S./Mexico border in McAllen, Texas, where she was set to tour a shelter for immigrant children, according to CNN. Her husband, former president Donald Trump, had come under fire for the way his administration was separating children from their parents at the border and keeping them in harsh conditions (via Vox). However, when she boarded the plane at Andrews Air Force Base, she stopped the press and the country in their tracks.

A green khaki jacket with large painted letters splashed across the back in white spelling out "I Really Don't Care, Do You?" was clearly something Melania Trump was OK with. She let cameras grab a snap of her jacket as she made a very public trip to the border to tour a children's immigration facility. When she arrived in Texas, the jacket was off, but the choice and public setting of the jacket option had already made the rounds on the internet.

A few months after the incident, Melania explained why she wore the jacket to ABC News for their 2018 special, "Being Melania." She also discussed her feelings on Donald Trump's child separation policy (via CNN).

"I was blindsided by [the administration's zero-tolerance policy]. I told him at home, and I said to him that I feel that's unacceptable, and he felt the same," she said. She also explained that the jacket didn't reflect how she felt about the children at the border, despite the very public display.

"It was kind of a message, yes. I would prefer that they focus on what I do and my initiatives than what I wear... It's obvious I didn't wear the jacket for the children. I wore the jacket to go on the plane and off the plane. And it was for the people and for the left-wing media who are criticizing me," Melania said. "I want to show them that I don't care. You could criticize whatever you want to say, but it will not stop me to do what I feel is right."

In the summer of 2020, Melania Trump's close friend, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, released the book "Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship With the First Lady" in which Melania discussed her infamous khaki jacket. "I'm driving liberals crazy," Melania said at the time of the jacket incident. "You know what? They deserve it."

Melania also went on to talk about what she saw at the border and how nice she felt the children were being treated. She told Wolkoff that the children she met were not separated from their parents, but rather were rescued by people engaged in trafficking. 

"They're not with their parents, and it's sad. But the patrols told me the kids say, 'Wow, I get a bed? I will have a cabinet for my clothes?' It's more than they have in their own country where they sleep on the floor. They are taking care nicely there," she reportedly said, as noted by Vanity Fair. Did the former first lady truly not care about the status of the children at the shelter in Texas? Or did she simply choose a jacket that just happened to have a cryptic message? Only she truly knows the answer to that question, but either way, the jacket got pretty much the whole world talking.