The White House released the first official portrait of Melania Trump on Monday, and turns out, all most people could talk about was the size of her ring.
Along with the announcement, the White House released this statement from the first lady: “I am honored to serve in the role of first lady, and look forward to working on behalf of the American people over the coming years.”
Then, the White House released this photo.
But take a look at Trump’s left hand, specifically on her ring finger. That’s what Twitter users couldn’t stop salivating over Monday.
https://twitter.com/Chet_Cannon/status/848946735569223681
Melania Trump’s official @FLOTUS portrait features her 25 carat diamond ring. pic.twitter.com/IAL8bcv7uL
— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) April 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/andreagonram/status/848948408492720131
It appears to be her engagement ring, which was reported by Hello Magazine to be 12 carats and worth $3 million in 2004. Vanity Fair and others, though, reported that her engagement ring actually was 25 carats (the New York Post also reported in 2004 that President Trump got Melania Trump’s $1.5 million, 13-carat wedding ring for free). Either way, Melania will slide into first lady history while wearing a rather large diamond.
https://twitter.com/KeitaroE37/status/848946410506604544
https://twitter.com/loupellatt/status/842566099736674304
FLOTUS official portraits, 2009 & 2017. (Note positioning of Melania Trump's diamond ring.) pic.twitter.com/QVLrBDo362
— Noga Tarnopolsky נגה טרנופולסקי نوغا ترنوبولسكي💙 (@NTarnopolsky) April 3, 2017
This isn’t the first time Trump’s jewelry has been in the spotlight since her husband was elected president. After the election, a portion of Melania’s official biography on the White House site read, “Melania is also a successful entrepreneur. In April 2010, Melania Trump launched her own jewelry collection, ‘Melania™ Timepieces & Jewelry,’ on QVC. [the TV shopping channel].”
After an outcry (and the reveal that QVC doesn’t currently sell her jewelry line), that advertisement soon after was deleted.
Her decision to stay in New York while her husband is in Washington hasn’t made people happy either. On Monday a petition demanding the Trump family pays for her own security detail passed 500,000 signatures. Think of how much hocking that ring would help in that endeavor.