There's been yet another entry in the conspiracy theory that the White House has a Melania Trump 'body double' they wheel out when the First Lady is expected to make an appearance alongside her husband.
People who've worked within the Trump administration have said the marriage between the Trumps is far from rosy.
Trump's former director of communications Anthony Scaramucci, who was fired after less than two weeks in his role in 2017, was talking about how much his own wife hated Donald Trump and said it was 'almost as much as Melania hates him'.
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Jimmy Kimmel has also made jokes about it, quipping last year when Trump faced expensive court bills that Melania was 'the real loser' as she might end up with 'half of the nothing he owns', joking: "If you think she hates him now, wait until he’s poor."
Melania hating her husband has become a well known joke in the US, to the point that a Family Guy episode where the Griffins go and work for Trump has her handing Peter a golf club and asking him to kill her husband.
What's the 'body double' conspiracy?
The idea behind it is that Melania Trump hates her husband and doesn't want to spend time near him, so when he's out and about at public events where the First Lady would be expected to attend they get a 'body double' to stand in for her.
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Guardian columnist Marina Hyde has claimed credit for starting it off, having joked on social media: "Absolutely convinced Melania is being played by a Melania impersonator these days.
"Theory: she left him weeks ago."
While she might have meant it in jest the idea has taken on a life of its own and through the years there have been several times when others have said they're sure Trump has got a 'body double' to pretend to be his wife for the events he needs her to attend.
October 2017
One of the first instances of the claims of 'fake Melania' came near the start of his first term in office when Melania was pictured wearing a gigantic pair of sunglasses which covered much of her face.
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This is where it really all kicked off.
Trump himself didn't help much by saying at one point 'my wife Melania, who happens to be right here', since for the people who thought it wasn't really her - the big orange man saying it definitely was only made them doubt more.
However, it got debunked as people pointed out that just because her face is hidden beneath a giant pair of sunglasses it doesn't mean it wasn't really her.
Still, the joke had taken root and would be told plenty of times more.
July 2018
When Trump touched down in Brussels for a NATO summit the following year a picture of he and his wife disembarking Air Force One had the same bunch saying 'fake Melania is back'.
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She was wearing a similar coat to the first sighting and people told themselves 'that looks nothing like her'.
While some people reckoned it was 'a whole different face', it once again was the actual Melania Trump.
Of course one of the alluring things about any conspiracy is if it tells you what you want to believe, and there are lots of people who want to believe Donald Trump has to cart around a body double of his wife because the real one won't go with him.
March 2019
The big sunglasses made a comeback in 2019 as people once again suggested that it was someone else under them.
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If you're going to think this in 2017 then you're probably also going to think it in 2019.
Donald Trump, himself no stranger to peddling conspiracy theories, took to social media to hit out at the 'fake Melania' speculation.
He said: "The Fake News photoshopped pictures of Melania, then propelled conspiracy theories that it’s actually not her by my side in Alabama and other places. They are only getting more deranged with time!"
October 2020
Ahead of the final US Presidential Debate in 2020 the Trump's were pictured heading for an aircraft to take them to the location.
Melania was once again wearing big sunglasses and the usual suspects emerged again to add it to their conspiracy collection.
It was swiftly debunked by the Washington Post, which pointed out that it'd be a pretty daft move to bring a fake Melania to a TV production where millions of Americans would be watching.
The Independent called it a 'bizarre' theory and quoted a former secret service agent who said they didn't use body doubles.
April 2025
With Trump back in office several years later the conspiracy resurfaced again at the funeral of Pope Francis.
Once again people thought her outfit and behaviour was not indicative of the real Melania and flooded social media with comments wondering what exactly was going on.
However, to the disappointment of many conspiracy theorists, or they may simply choose to ignore it in favour of their own preferred version of events, it turns out that was once again the real Melania.
June 2025
What was once an annual thing has now served up a double helping in three months.
There was very recently a military parade in American to commemorate the US Army's 250th anniversary, and of course the president and first lady were in attendance.
Naturally this was another chance for people to say they'd defrosted the fake Melania for her next public appearance, particularly since she actually appeared to be smiling and interested in what was going on.
She then later appeared to have dozed off in a clip of the events which had some people suggesting 'that was not Melania for sure'.
Both Trumps have called the whole thing 'ridiculous', but presumably this is a conspiracy theory that's not going away.
The question of where Melania Trump is often gets asked across the pond, as the New York Times has reported that during Donald Trump's first 100 days in office she'd spent 'less than 14 days' in the White House.
Topics: Melania Trump, Donald Trump, Conspiracy Theory, Viral, US News
Joe Harker