This vampiric clan of Trump seems dedicated to the proposition that “the family that preys together stays together,” and prey they do — on us. Rachel Maddow effectively demystified Donald Trump’s NFL tweetfest by revealing on “The Tonight Show” a few days ago that Trump had a fundraising campaign through his PAC asking for donations if you agreed with his NFL stance, i.e., if the emotional trigger of listening to Trump’s dog whistle of telling the black men their place was enough to make you take out your wallet and donate.
Now Melania’s doing the same thing, creating a way to make cash out of some pre-existing situation which is a news story. AOL Lifestyle is running a series of ads, disguised as news articles chronicling the fashion exploits of Hurricane Barbi. Her costume changes are all recorded and everything she wears is for sale. Now her questionable taste in wearing stilletos in a hurricane zone is one thing and that’s not the scope of this piece. The fact that what she is actually doing is modelling and selling the stilletos, and everything else, while people are dying and she’s supposedly present on the scene as an icon of mercy and hope is. She’s literally using the misery of people egregiously affected by natural disaster and her visibility as FLOTUS to sell clothes and make money. Here’s a sample:
If you recall, Melania sparked controversy in late August for wearing heels en route to Texas following Hurricane Harvey. Days later, in a subsequent trip to Texas, she rocked a different pair of $650 Manolo Blahnik heels with a $1,590 Ralph Lauren safari shirt dress.
Just hours after boarding Air Force One in Washington D.C. on Tuesday morning wearing ... navy-hued stilettos, the first lady exited the plane in San Juan wearing another stylish, albeit casual, look... pair of Timberland boots. The iconic work boot features a waterproof seal, quality leather material and a budget-friendly price tag at $170.
She was photographed after a weekend at Camp David a couple of weeks ago rocking a $695 Calvin Klein shirt... she gave serious fall vibes in a $1,380 Balmain plaid...
Not that this is anything new in Trump World, Ivanka did exactly the same thing, selling her jewelry after she appeared on CBS’ “60 Minutes" wearing a $10,000 bracelet. Viewers were treated to a post-show commercial telling them where to buy it.
But despair not, she’s not getting away with it. A lot of people are quite disgusted with Lady Melania and her tone deaf ways:
Today Donald Trump went to Puerto Rico, a place for which he has done far less than he could to provide life-saving aid, and threw paper towels at hurricane survivors. It was a disgusting and ridiculous exhibition. But luckily, it was the perfect setting for Melania Trump to debut her latest natural disaster-chic fashion look.
While the first lady left Washington wearing stiletto heels—not unlike the ones she wore to Houston while visiting survivors of Hurricane Harvey—by the time the Trumps landed in Puerto Rico, she was wearing a white shirt, white skinny jeans, an almost army green jacket, a baseball hat, aviators, and, my god, Timberland boots. It’s Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” meets hip hop. Okay, maybe it’s just Fifth Harmony’s “Work From Home” video.[...]
But Melania does communicate a lot to us through clothing. Whether it was the infamous “pussy bow” blouse that she donned right after her husbands “Grab them by the pussy” comments surfaced or the [$51,000] Dolce & Gabbana jacket fiasco, her clothes speak loudly. Today, her outfit spoke above all to the baffling spectacle of her husband’s response to the horrifying damage that Puerto Rico continues to suffer.
The Trumps are insensitive and vulgar with no sense of proportion or propriety. All they care about is money. When their compatriots like Tom Price, Scott Pruitt and Steve Mnuchin are not bleeding the public coffers dry charging private jets, the Trumps are capitalizing on their visibility in order to hold fundraisers and sell merchandise. In a time of national disaster, they are nothing short of a national disgrace.