Melania Trump Posts Juneteenth Tweet And Gets Reminded Of 'Birther' Past
Melania Trump attempted to honor Juneteenth on Friday by reading a children’s book about the holiday — but was accused of not reading the room.
The first lady took to Twitter to read “All Different Now” by Angela Johnson, which tells the story of Juneteenth, a day that celebrates the end of slavery, through the eyes of a young girl.
In the tweet, Trump also reminisced about a trip to Ghana where she toured the House of Slaves, a place where millions of kidnapped Africans were held before being forced onto slave ships bound for the New World.
Today we celebrate #Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the U.S. In honor of today, I would like to share the story "All Different Now" by Angela Johnson, which sheds a light on the first Juneteenth through the eyes of a young girl. pic.twitter.com/ZG9zoup4yG
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) June 19, 2020
Many Twitter users found the first lady’s video insensitive for a variety of reasons, but especially because of her past support of the racist “birther” conspiracy theory championed by her husband, President Donald Trump, that falsely claimed that former President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the U.S.
Ok, birther. We believe your sincerity. We know you didn't really traffic in the racist birtherism conspiracy theories.
<𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙢 𝙁𝙤𝙣𝙩>#JUNETEENTH2020 #JuneTeenth #JuneteenthDay https://t.co/DcmD1SGOHd pic.twitter.com/uy7uatQMeF— Khary Penebaker (@kharyp) June 19, 2020
This ignorant bitch right here...I mean...I can't with her tone-deaf idiocy. https://t.co/orzLbssPWS
— Vivicca A. Whitsett (@2tall4u2) June 19, 2020
Would that it had been “All Different Now.” “Slavery” ended. But, Jim Crow, Black Codes, Lynchings, the KKK, Disenfranchisement, Gerrymandering, White Supremacy, Discriminatory Hiring Practices, Racial Profiling, Inferior Education & BIRTHERISM followed…3rd Lady. https://t.co/KBl0Tbs3Gh
— Star Jones (@StarJonesEsq) June 19, 2020
How to not read the room: a masterclass. https://t.co/tkhHw9BP1n
— Tim Windsor (@timwindsor) June 19, 2020
Others focused on the video’s visual details — notably the decision to sit the first lady on a gilded bench in an ornate room and film her at a distance.
A great way to send a message of equality, humanity and togetherness is a wide shot in which the only person in the frame is completely overwhelmed by ridiculously opulent furniture https://t.co/bI6sCD8ID8
— Meredith Blake (@MeredithBlake) June 19, 2020
I am awaiting Sophia Coppola's film about how Melania taught all of white America about Juneteenth from her gilded room in Versailles on the Potomac... https://t.co/tzwgiadCsn
— Jeffrey St. Clair (@JSCCounterPunch) June 19, 2020
"Don't zoom in."
"Oka- wait. DON'T zoom in?"
"Yes. Don't zoom in."
"So, just stay wide the whole time?"
"Yes."
"Isn't that going to look weird?"
"I don't know. Just stay wide."
"So, super wide, no zoom."
"Right."
"Okay. Ready when you are."
"Barack Obama wasn't born in the U.S." https://t.co/8CZx4I7b2X— ɐpoqoʌs ʎɐɾ (@jaysvoboda) June 19, 2020
This looks like the opening of a horror movie.... slow push in... she smiles.. then... her face turns into a bleeding skull....."CHRISTMAS" https://t.co/6Zq19mOXYU
— Hal Sparks (@HalSparks) June 19, 2020
But sometimes the most telling comments are also the shortest.
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oh fuck off https://t.co/fUMvoKpvXS
— Imani Gandy ☄️🌏🔥 (@AngryBlackLady) June 19, 2020
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
