Melania Trump's Sloppy 2025 Joint Address Outfit Confirms What We Suspected

Maybe Melania Trump is too busy dreaming about being a Vogue cover star to focus on her return to the White House, but her appearance at President Donald Trump's joint address to Congress on March 4, 2025, showed that she seems unenthused about taking on the job again. Arriving at the House chamber ahead of her husband, Melania wore a dark gray suit with a long scarf detail at the collar which hung below her waist. Even more oddly, the scarf was cinched in by her black belt, which itself was wrapped and hung down aimlessly. In all, it was a messy look that didn't reflect any joy in her position. Hers won't go down in history as one of the most scandalous first lady outfits ever worn, but it won't win a spot in a Smithsonian museum collection, either. 

Supporters of the president and his family still gushed over Melania, but online critics were far less kind. One joked on X (formerly Twitter), "Melania Trump has chosen the 'Anakin Skywalker just before he murders the younglings and burns the Jedi Temple' as her State of the Union look." (This wasn't the SOTU, but we get the idea.)

Whereas Second Lady Usha Vance chose to wear a bold color — a sandy peach hue — to witness Donald Trump's joint address to Congress, Melania Trump went for a drab neutral shade and an unpolished ensemble. Making only her second public appearance since the presidential inauguration, she might have thought to make more of a statement of pride in her husband's accomplishment. Instead, the first lady appeared not to be excited about the evening at all. Though she held Trump's hand on the way to their waiting limos, cameras caught her pulling her hand away just a little too early. It was yet another of the telling body language moves between Donald and Melania which hint their marriage is more chilly than passionate. 

Melania's demeanor during the event was also telling. Though she smiled broadly on entering the chamber and when Trump introduced her to the guests, the first lady otherwise looked solemn. Her applause was more polite than wildly approving, and with no family members or close friends near her, she looked almost lonely. Thankfully for Melania, she won't have to stand in the congressional gallery again until early 2026 for the State of the Union address. Perhaps she'll wear a cheerier outfit then.