First lady Melania Trump revealed that she wore the “I Don’t Care, Do U?” jacket on her way to the southern border in June to send a message to the media during an interview with ABC’s Tom Llamas that aired on Friday.
She wore the infamous jacket on and off the plane as she was flying to Texas last summer to visit the detention centers for children who had been separated from their parents after being apprehended trying to enter the country illegally.
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“Let’s talk about the jacket,” Llamas said. “Why did you wear it?”
“You know I often [ask] myself, ‘If I [did] not wear that jacket, [would I] have so much media coverage?’ It’s obvious I didn’t wear the jacket for the children, I wore the jacket to go on the plane and off the plane,” the first lady responded. “It was for the people, and for the left-wing media who are criticizing me and I want to show them that I don’t care. You could criticize whatever you want to say but it will not stop me [from doing] what I feel is right.” (RELATED: Melania’s Pre-Flight Jacket Has Media In An Uproar)
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MD – JUNE 21: U.S. first lady Melania Trump (C) traveling to Texas to visit facilities that house and care for children taken from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border June 21, 2018 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“After the visit I put it back on because I see how the media got obsessed about it,” Melania Trump added.
At the time of the controversy, first lady spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham claimed there was no “hidden message” behind the jacket and hoped that the controversy over it would not overshadow her visit.
“I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” written on the back of Melania’s jacket, refers to the Fake News Media. Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2018
After Melania’s visit, President Trump tweeted that the message on her jacket referred to “the Fake News Media,” adding that, “Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares!”
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