White House slams backlash over Melania Trump's coat in 9/11 tribute image

WASHINGTON: A White House spokesperson has fired back after social media users criticized US First Lady Melania Trump over a coat she wore in a 9/11 tribute image because they claimed the stitching on the back of it resembled a plane flying into one of the Twin Towers.

Melania faced backlash on Twitter on Wednesday, the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, when President Donald Trump shared a photo of the couple at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, with the caption, "We will never forget 9.11.01", The Daily Mail reported on Friday.

The image was taken when the couple visited the memorial on September 11, 2018, and the tribute drew attention to the back of Melania's custom navy blue Herve Pierre coat, which features white stitching that some social media users insisted that it looked like a skyscraper.

Next to the design is a button flap that is also stitched in white, and some Twitterati have claimed that it resembled the images of the World Trade Center being struck by the aircraft.

In response to the backlash, White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham, who was previously the First Lady's press secretary, brushed off the controversy, telling USA Today on Thursday: "It's ridiculous."

Shortly after the tribute image was shared on social media by the President, dozens of Twitter users responded to criticize the First Lady's choice.

Former Bachelor contestant Ashley Spivey was among those who drew attention to the ill-advised design on the coat.

"I'm sure I'm not the first one to spot this but who in the world thought it was a good idea for Melania to wear this coat in the 9/11 photo," she tweeted. "It legit looks like an object is flying into a tower or the Washington Monument."

"Is...is that a plane crashing into one of the twin towers in the back of Melania's coat?" another user asked.

One Twitter used said: "Melania wears a coat in 911 post that literally looks like a plane flew into a tower. Did they fire all the stylists too or is Melania just the biggest troll ever?"

Few of the First Lady's fashion choices in the past also didn't go down well with the twitterati, The Daily Mail said.

She faced immense backlash when she infamously wore a $39 Zara jacket emblazoned with the words, "I really dont care, do u?" as she departed to visit children separated from their families at the US-Mexico border in June 2018.