Trump attacked Michelle Obama for visiting Saudi Arabia without a headscarf. Melania Trump is now doing exactly that.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
President Trump began his first tour abroad since taking office with a visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday, where he is accompanied by first lady Melania Trump as well as his daughter, Ivanka Trump.
Neither woman is wearing a headscarf in the traditional Saudi style, which is not unusual. Though Saudi women are legally required to wear a head covering and a long, typically dark robe called an abaya when appearing in public, visiting Western women usually wear conservative dresses and leave their heads uncovered. See, for example, these photos of British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and former first lady Michelle Obama in Saudi Arabia in recent years:
So the Trump ladies' choice would be a non-story — except for this old tweet from President Trump, in which he attacked Obama for her choice:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump's Twitter also boasts a lengthy archive of criticism of the country he now says it is a "great honor" to visit, including accusing Riyadh of "paying ISIS."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
