President Donald Trump gave a wide-ranging special birthday interview on Friday morning’s Fox & Friends. Among the topics of conversation on the table were everything from his Kellyanne Conway problem to his Joe Biden problem—but he also took some time to discuss his proposed Air Force One redesign.
In doing so, he managed to step in it by comparing his wife, first lady Melania Trump, to former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
“It’s been a long time, and it fits the plane better—you know, it’s a very different plane, and even though it’s a 747 [sic],” Trump told his grinning interviewers. “And I like the concept of red, white, and blue in the classic, and I think it’s going to look much better, actually.”
“You know, the baby blue doesn’t fit with us—people get used to something, and it was Jackie O and that’s good,” he continued. “But we have our own Jackie O today. It’s called Melania. Melania … we’ll call her Melania T! OK?”
Trump demands America refer to Melania Trump as the new Jackie O. https://t.co/eVjzxhmPdm pic.twitter.com/YukS6UnRys
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) June 14, 2019
Putting aside the fact that he referred to his wife as an “it,” Trump is saying that Jackie Kennedy was the inspiration for the original design of the first Air Force One in 1962. The classic slate blue and contemporary cyan color scheme—which was intended to represent the early republic and future of the presidency, respectively—has since carried through in each iteration of the aircraft into the present.
But whether one views an update of Air Force One as blasphemy, people were definitely not pleased with Trump’s comparison of the timeless style icon to the first lady known for her tree-planting stiletto heels and “I really don’t care, do u” jacket.
https://twitter.com/remizmomma/status/1139530778558246912
https://twitter.com/GovHowardDean/status/1139558406069657600
Trump says Melanie is the new Jackie O. I have to agree! I’m so glad we finally have a First Lady with some style and taste back in the White House. Let’s remember some of her signature looks: F Brown Kids, Trump Hotel Drapes, Complicit Barbie, and of course Murder Christmas. pic.twitter.com/lBOzJxbHHJ
— Anna (@anna_roca13) June 14, 2019
https://twitter.com/andeavorable/status/1139528184595124225
Jackie O visiting suffering children
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) June 14, 2019
vs.
Melania visiting suffering children pic.twitter.com/eFhuBjcCJE
https://twitter.com/LilfootLanolin/status/1139550524745900033
Others were just gobsmacked to learn why “Jackie O” was trending in the first place:
When you click on "Jackie O" to see why it's trending pic.twitter.com/hxmXTgto75
— Laura (Taylor’s Version) (@loganowski) June 14, 2019
https://twitter.com/Manhattan510/status/1139528960067461120
Me: Why is Jackie O trending?
— isa🍒 (@isateezer) June 14, 2019
Sees why: pic.twitter.com/ppPc8P14jh
https://twitter.com/lubbockchick/status/1139523597830148097
And then some people pointed out that the actual similarities between Jackie O and Melania are … maybe not something he wants to bring up.
https://twitter.com/JensenKarp/status/1139541562029821952
Awkward, to say the least!