First Lady Melania Trump visited Kenya over the weekend only to find the hat she wore criticized by the Left Saturday. Her white hat was called into question because it supposedly “evokes a colonial comparison,” according to a tweet sent out by CNN International.
CNN International
✔@cnni
US first lady Melania Trump’s latest white hat evokes a colonialist comparison https://cnn.it/2yjn0kR
New York Times World also sent a similar tweet saying, “The pith helmet Melania Trump wore during a Kenyan safari wasn’t her most glaring faux pas. But some see her choice of a symbol of European colonial rule as a big error on the global stage.”
New York Times World✔@nytimesworld
The pith helmet Melania Trump wore during a Kenyan safari wasn’t her most glaring faux pas. But some see her choice of a symbol of European colonial rule as a big error on the global stage. https://nyti.ms/2yioz2h
Melania Trump Raises Eyebrows in Africa With Another White Hat
The first lady drew criticism after she appeared on a safari grassland wearing a pith helmet — a common symbol of European colonial rule.
nytimes.com
Several comments on the tweets showed that there was really no need to critique the outfit. Kenyans responded that they had not even considered the outfit to be offensive.
One commenter who self-identified as Kenyan wrote, “[T]hat so called hat has no meaning to me.” Another tweeted, “In Kenya but don’t feel the same way please stop the discourse CNN.”
CNN International✔@cnni
US first lady Melania Trump’s latest white hat evokes a colonialist comparison https://cnn.it/2yjn0kR
Blessed One.@chalcaxAm a Kenyan,that so called hat has no meaning to me.
CNN International✔@cnni
US first lady Melania Trump’s latest white hat evokes a colonialist comparison https://cnn.it/2yjn0kR
Alex M@RealalexmwanziaIn Kenya but don’t feel the same way please stop the discourse CNN
Grilling Melania Trump over her choice of hat in Kenya is ridiculous. Kenyan public officials wear a similar hat. There is no need to be so nitpick-y. In fact, such critiques make these news networks look bad and takes away from whatever credibility they still have in remaining objective when covering any member of the Trump administration.
All that said, the first lady did not appear angry about the criticism, and instead pointed out the ridiculousness in the media’s nitpick-y scrutiny of her hat. “We just completed an amazing trip — we went to Ghana, we went to Malawi, we went to Kenya, here we are in Egypt,” she told NPR. “I want to talk about my trip and not what I wear. That’s very important.”
