A new photo of US first lady Melania Trump on Marine One has reignited conspiracy theories that she has a body double.
The picture, which was taken on October 22 by Getty Images, showed the first lady smiling broadly from within the plane on the South Lawn of the White House.
Within hours of the image being made public, speculation began that her smile was seemingly different – and uncharacteristic of the usually straight-faced first lady.
The only thing I’ll miss from this administration is them swapping in new Melanias and just pretending we won’t notice like a 4-year-old with a guppy pic.twitter.com/8J0A4E9z5H
— Zack Bornstein (@ZackBornstein) October 25, 2020
“Good luck finding any photos of Melania smiling like that,” one person tweeted.
Others decided to dig deeper into the nature of the smile, with one person spending time comparing the teeth of Melania next to the “Melania” in the pictures.
”Swipe these two photos back & forth. Notice the two front teeth. Melania’s are more squared…THAT AIN’T HER in the other photo,” another said.
Swipe these two photos back & forth. Notice the two front teeth. Melania’s are more squared…THAT AIN’T HER in the other photo. #FakeMelania pic.twitter.com/ge18TBarhy
— BlueinaRedState (@RedStateBlues20) October 25, 2020
Others chimed in as well, sharing pictures of Melania at different heights when stood next to her husband.
Here’s another side-by-side. Notice her height…#FakeMelania pic.twitter.com/opYQZWXYLK
— BlueinaRedState (@RedStateBlues20) October 25, 2020
The FakeMelania hashtag has been trending on social media, with some posting joke pictures of Donald Trump with other Fake Melanias that included UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Steven Tyler from Aerosmith, Kim Jong Un from North Korea and Stormy Daniels.
The First Lady’s body double rumours began back in October 2017, after actor and comedian Andrea Wagner Barton posted her theory on Facebook.
”Will the real Melania please stand up? Is it me or during his speech today a decoy “stood in” for Melania?? And….Why would the moron say “my wife, Melania, who happens to be right here…” she said.
The allegations appear to be unfounded, and there’s never been any official comment from the White House about them.
