The Brief: The first lady of the United States chose blood-red Christmas tree decorations for the White House, sparking online backlash around both her decorating skills and politics.
DEEP DIVE
Memes and jokes about these starkly blood-red trees range from lighthearted jokes to deep criticisms of the Trump administration. These include references to The Handmaid’s Tale, Gritty, The Shining, Parks & Rec, and the recent tear gassing of people seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Melania Trump responded to the criticism, saying that “we are in the 21st century and everybody has a different taste” and “I think they look fantastic.”
Bold choice going with decorations inspired by the Handmaid's Tale. pic.twitter.com/Ze2kZX65lp
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) November 26, 2018
Melania's christmas decorations aren't well-liked, but at least one person likes them. #gritty #grittychristmas pic.twitter.com/6XW6OWwbTf
— shane (@shane_minn) November 27, 2018
AIDE: There’s this perception you don’t care about children, so we need to—
MELANIA: Get me the blood-red nightmare Christmas trees with NO ORNAMENTS OR PRESENTS pic.twitter.com/2F3jv8oyAO
— Jason O. Gilbert (@gilbertjasono) November 26, 2018
It’s that time of year at White House … pic.twitter.com/7BEQ28neLj
— ✨Rey Skywalker ✨ (@Rey_Sistance) November 26, 2018
Nothing says “we gas immigrant children” like blood red Christmas trees. pic.twitter.com/tmtmzrKBUr
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) November 26, 2018
You forgot about the essence of the game. It's about the cones. pic.twitter.com/ma6gAjC7AT
— ⒜⒭⒤⒞ (@aric) November 26, 2018
Would the white house celebrate a Merry Christmas?
I don’t know who made this amazing meme pic.twitter.com/FlvmjWWhbt
— Tuff Blue (@TuffBlue) December 15, 2018