Melania Trump’s wide-brimmed hat at husband Donald’s inauguration sparks body double conspiracy theories

WASHINGTON, DC: Melania Trump is not only known for her fashion choices but also the hidden meaning behind those choices. 

After sparking a frenzy online over her Valentino outfit for former president Jimmy Carter’s state funeral earlier this month, it was time for her Inauguration Day outfit to create a similar buzz on social media.

While a section lauded her choice of outfit for husband Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, Monday, another section compared her look to the McDonalds character, the Hamburgler. Her wide-brimmed hat, of course, became the talk of the town, per The Mirror.

Melania's attire and hat also fueled the resurgence of the long-standing body double theory.

Melania Trump appears in wide-brimmed hat for Donald Trump's inauguration

Melania Trump, who is quite a fashion icon, attended her husband's swearing-in ceremony wearing a creation from the independent New York designer Adam Lippes and a coordinating hat by Eric Javits, as reported by BBC. 

As First Lady Melania, 54, wore the dark hat, the accessory artfully hid her forehead and cast a shadow on her eyes. 

Soon, her huge hat became the topic of several discussions, including landing itself in her husband’s joke. 

The 47th president, while addressing the crowd, joked that his wife “almost blew away” because of the huge hat she was wearing. He shared that when he and his wife were bidding farewell to former president Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden, Melania struggled to keep her hat steady. 

He quipped, "The wind is blowing like crazy. And with the hat that she's wearing, she almost blew away," before adding, "We almost lost her. She was being elevated off the ground, she almost blew away now. So we all appreciated this. You've been a great first lady," as per The New York Post.

Despite the online chatter about her outfit and the abundance of hilarious comments about the hat, there was a resurgence of body double conspiracy theories as well. 

Several social media users claimed it was not Melania beside President Trump during the inauguration, but rather her body double.

The conspiracy theory about Melania being replaced by a body double first surfaced in 2017. Every now and then, such rumors resurface claiming that a body double often steps in for Melania when she has to accompany her husband to events.

More recently, when the Trumps cast their votes in Palm Beach in Florida on November 5, 2024, viral posts claimed the woman standing next to Donald Trump was a body double.

Melania Trump's enormous hat sparks body double rumors

The internet was rife with conspiracy theories about Melania Trump's body double attending Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday.

A user declared the first lady's look to be "Stylish!" before conjecturing, "If it was only really Melania under that hat. Think it was a Secret Service body double. She never had that hat move from the tilted position, so ppl couldn't see "her". Earlobes and jawline different. Trump same size. But the true Melania was at the inaugural balls!"

Another user claimed, "That Bolero hat Melania is wearing won’t do much to dispel the rumours that she has a body double."

"No way that's Melania Trump. It's a body double," penned someone else. 

Another user remarked, "I think it’s a body double. Melania didn’t want to attend."

Someone else mused, "If you look at what is supposed to be Melania, it's not, it looks like her body double, the smile is way off, not to mention she had a grimace on her face the whole day! #Melaniabodydouble #Melaniahat."

Another user went a step forward and added to the already brewing body-double theory, "I swear that hat was designed so Melania’s body double didn’t have to wear sunglasses."

Someone else, meanwhile, pointed out that it was an intelligent move for Melania to include the hat in her wardrobe, saying, "It’s an absolutely brilliant move for Melania to use the very fashionable hat to partially hide her beautiful face so that she can easily use body doubles for the duration of her husband’s presidency. Matt really is awesome to have pointed this out!"

Nevertheless, everyone was of not the same opinion, as one of the ardent supporters declared, "That is Melania there’s no body double.🦅🦅🦅🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🥰."

Another fan chimed in, "Bologna! There’s no Melania body double! Why would she miss all the fun??"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.