While First Lady Jill Biden was wrapping up a three-state tour Monday night, her predecessor Melania Trump made her first public appearance in a while, hosting a GOP fundraiser in New York.
While it’s no secret that political wives can help reel in or repeal voters — sometimes in equal measures — the current and previous first ladies understand the power of a photo op. While Biden was all business during her three-state trip, Trump maximized the glam factor wearing a red Valentino dress with red Jimmy Choo stilettos. The frock was a repeat outfit for the former model, who wore it in April 2017 to meet President Xi Jinping of China, and his wife Peng Liyuan at Mar-a-Lago, according to Trump’s stylist Hervé Pierre.
Pierre thought he had bought the dress at the Valentino store on the Upper East Side, but he couldn’t say for certain Tuesday. Political tea readers, who might question the dress’ provenance given that Hungary’s leader Viktor Orbán just made a surprise visit to China to meet with Xi reportedly about ending the Russia-Ukraine war, need not read too deep. The selection was seemingly made based on the current heat wave gripping the Northeast.
As for why the Valentino dress was chosen, Pierre said Tuesday, “I don’t know why. It is summer — straps, easy. There was no particular reason except that she likes this dress and [she] hadn’t worn it for a while.”
Pierre was among the attendees at the fundraiser in the Trump Tower penthouse for Log Cabin Republicans, a group that supports LGBTQIA+ rights. The group touted the event on “X.” It reportedly raised $1.4 million.
A media inquiry to Log Cabin Republicans was not acknowledged Tuesday afternoon.
Stumping for President Joe Biden in North Carolina, Florida and Georgia Monday, the first lady talked up his commitment to members of the military, their families and veterans, as well as his plans to stay in the presidential race following last month’s lackluster debate. In Wilmington, N.C., Monday morning, Jill Biden repeated the remarks she made at her last two events about Biden being “all in” in the presidential race and how “just as he has always supported my career, I’m all in, too.”
As President Biden continues to ward off calls from some of his fellow Democrats to bow out, the first lady has taken on a more public and vocal role in his defense. Monday’s trip also kicked off the national organizing initiative “Veterans and Military Families for Biden-Harris.” During a stop at Bibb Mill Event Center in Columbus, Ga., Jill Biden described Donald Trump as “evil,” according to a White House pool report.
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden speaks during a campaign event in Wilmington, N.C., on Monday.
Anadolu via Getty Images
At the site of a century-old cotton mill that is now a popular wedding venue in a battleground state, she said, “Does Donald Trump know anything about the military? He disparages those who sacrifice for our country. His own chief of staff said he called POWs and those who died in war loser [SIC] and suckers. He’s evil…” according to the pool report.
Just as Melania Trump opted for a Republican red dress, Biden chose a navy blue dress with white horizontal stripes and a white jacket for Tuesday’s three-state tour. As part of this week’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit, Biden will be back on the global stage Wednesday, when she hosts spouses and partners of NATO allies and partner countries at a brunch at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. And on Thursday the first lady will host a lunch for spouses and partners at Camp David.