Melania Trump's Holiday Outing Drags An Early First Lady Scandal Back Into The Light

It's officially the most wonderful time of the year, and even the White House is getting into the holiday spirit. On November 24, Melania Trump made a special appearance outside of the White House for the arrival of this year's Christmas tree. "It's a beautiful tree," Melania said of the Michigan-grown concolor fir, per The Associated Press. Of course, as they say, "the internet never forgets." And, unfortunately for Melania, the internet hasn't forgotten her real "bah, humbug" attitude regarding Christmas trees.

To welcome the tree that was brought in by horse and carriage, Melania re-wore a pair of plaid pumps from 2020. Yet, her Manolo Blahniks aren't the only ghost of Christmas past that's coming back to haunt her. Seeing Melania celebrating the newest White House Christmas tree gave some folks flashbacks to that bizarre tape that made the rounds in 2020. The audio features Melania railing against Christmas decorations — a duty that has historically been taken on by first ladies to celebrate the holiday season at the White House. 

Of course, Melania isn't like other first ladies. In the audio she is heard saying, "Who gives a f*** about Christmas stuff and decorations?" (via X, formerly Twitter). Still, people change, and we've seen enough classic Christmas movies to know that Melania would be far from the first holiday-hater to have their whole outlook changed after discovering the true meaning of Christmas. Has that happened, though? Probably not. And the internet definitely doesn't think so.

While that Christmas tape provided insight into Melania Trump's opinion on holiday decor, it doesn't require leaked audio to guess how she feels about being first lady. Melania reportedly stays away from the White House when possible, and she doesn't seem to clock in for work as first lady when it isn't absolutely necessary. Yet, amid clues that Donald Trump is freaking out behind the scenes, any and all distractions, including Christmas cheer, are surely welcome. 

Still, Melania's big Christmas tree photo op didn't come across as wholesome as the administration likely wanted, with plenty of netizens dredging up her Scrooge-y past. One X user commented on a video of Melania posing with the tree alongside the audio of her trashing the concept of Christmas decorations in the past. "Yet another moment that should've ended any kind of love that MAGA had for Melania Trump ... Imagine for a moment Michelle Obama had been caught on tape saying she hated decorating for Christmas," they wrote. 

Another post featured a video of Melania with the tree and the caption, "Who gives a f*** about the Christmas stuff and decorations? Grinch Melania Trump spends two minutes and 50 seconds at today's Christmas event before fleeing." "Everything's a show, I hate that they're in our White House again. 'Who gives a f*** about the Christmas stuff,'" another X user wrote. Clearly, those words are still haunting Melania, and there's nothing any ghost of White House Christmas present can do to stop it.