Melania Trump, is that you?
Many Twitter users wondered the same thing after a woman who looks like she was hired to portray Melania Trump appeared in photos alongside President Donald Trump.
The photo caused "Fake Melania" conspiracy theories to resurface on the social media platform, and it's safe to say that Twitter users had an absolute field day with the images.
What to know about the Fake Melania conspiracy theory:
After Donald Trump revealed he and Melania had tested positive for COVID-19 in an announcement via Twitter, as the President does, Melania's mainly been out of the public eye.
She made an appearance with her husband at the last presidential debate on Oct. 22, donning a mask as she took the stage after the debate had ended.
What happened to Melania?
— Ricky Carlson (@CarlsonRicky) October 25, 2020
Seriously? #FakeMelania pic.twitter.com/NxNy8eWaUG
However, after a photo (top left in the above tweet) appeared on Twitter, social media users began to question if Melania was using a fake body double, and more importantly, why.
"On one hand, I don't want to go down the nonsense conspiracy theory path when there are a billion legitimate things going on in plain sight that are way more important," one Reddit user wrote.
"On the other hand, those pics actually do not look anything like Melania..." they added.
Another Reddit user speculated about where the Trump administration would keep a Melania Trump body double.
"The only thing is this White House leaks so much, you'd think somebody would spot the second Melania (her body double would have to share a room with Melania, or at least live in a secret room in the White House)," they wrote.
"Unless this is some floozy Trump has and she has to dress up like Melania when they're out in public," they added.
All eyes will be on the President and the First Lady on Oct. 24, though, as they are both set to make an appearance in Pennsylvania during the final stretch of Trump's campaign trail before election day.
Which version? 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0? Or is this the grand unveiling of 4.0? #FakeMelania #TrumpCollapse pic.twitter.com/w3IBHz7SEu
— Suburban Housewife (@SuburbanHousew3) October 26, 2020
Melania's "disappearance" in 2018 sparked a bunch of conspiracy theories about her whereabouts.
According to the White House, Melania Trump had been recovering from surgery — said to have been an as yet unspecific medical treatment for an as yet unspecified kidney condition — and although she surfaced on Twitter with a statement about “feeling great” on May 30, 2018.
However, the fact that no one had seen her make an appearance in public at the time was keeping conspiracy theories alive.
I see the media is working overtime speculating where I am & what I'm doing. Rest assured, I'm here at the @WhiteHouse w my family, feeling great, & working hard on behalf of children & the American people!
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) May 30, 2018
“I see the media is working overtime speculating where I am & what I’m doing,” she tweeted. “Rest assured, I’m here at the @WhiteHouse w my family, feeling great, & working hard on behalf of children & the American people!”
It was reported that Mrs Trump was hospitalized for five days after “an embolization procedure to treat a benign kidney condition,” which usually takes just a day to recover from.
Did Donald Trump write Melania's May 2018 tweet?
This strange collection of partial facts had people doubting whether Melania was telling the truth... or if she even wrote the tweet herself, especially since she had yet to be seen at the time.
One report seems to agree with the many people now convinced President Donald Trump wrote the tweet and posted it on his wife’s Twitter account himself given the familiar nature of its wording.
The outlet said many of the words in Melania’s tweet sound familiar, and they do because POTUS uses them all the time.
Words and phrases like, “working overtime,” “speculating,” “working hard,” and “on behalf of the American people” appear frequently in the President's posts on Twitter.
The Fake News Networks are working overtime in Puerto Rico doing their best to take the spirit away from our soldiers and first R's. Shame!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017
Cannot believe how BADLY DACA recipients have been treated by the Democrats...totally abandoned! Republicans are still working hard.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 16, 2018
On behalf of the American people, WELCOME HOME! pic.twitter.com/hISaCI95CB
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2018
Melania ran away from her life as the First Lady of the United States.
Some reports stated that some believe she ran off to New York to get away from her husband or "she's cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller," while others think she "had a secret nip and tuck, in which case she’s just healing."
Melania is a secret Russian spy.
One of the wildest rumours going around the Internet speculates that Melania may be a Russian spy and that she is currently working with Vladimir Putin and Russian Intelligence.
While the First Lady is fluent in English, French, German, Italian, Serbian and Slovenian, she does not speak Russian, so that last one might be the hardest to believe.
She's writing a tell-all with Barack Obama.
And the crowd favourite, of course, goes as far as to suggest the former model is hiding away with former President Barack Obama in order to write a tell-all about life with The Donald turned President of our great Nation.
There are many more theories out there, but none of them have any solid evidence to lean on.
Despite the wild conspiracy theories about Melania's status as a "missing person", spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham assured Politicothat the First Lady is alive, well and comfortable at the White House with her family.
“Sadly, we deal with conspiracy theories all the time, so this is nothing new, just more silly nonsense,” she said. “She is doing great. I wouldn’t characterize it as a long absence. She was hospitalized for almost a week and is now home and recovering.”
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