MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell took a moment Monday to poke fun at Melania Trump’s clothes during her trip to Egypt last week, telling viewers Monday that the first lady looked more like she belonged on set of a period movie piece than on an official visit.
“I know she said that she doesn’t like the fact that people talk about her clothes, but it was like a costume drama. It looked like ‘Death on the Nile,’” said Mitchell, referencing the 1978 Agatha Christie film starring Mia Farrow and Peter Ustinov.
“And there was that pith helmet,” Mitchell continued. “A little bit edgy in a continent and certainly in countries where people resent the colonial costume effect of the 19th century.”
Mitchell’s critique met with broad agreement from her panel — PBS White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor and Reuters White House reporter Jeff Mason.
“She proceeded to basically do what some people considered a photo shoot in front of the Sphinx and in front of the pyramids,” said Mason.
Alcindor compared the pith helmet to wearing a Confederate flag in the United States.
It’s not the first time Trump’s fashion choice has sparked media interest. In June, the first lady drew headlines for wearing an H&M jacket emblazoned with the slogan “I Really Don’t Care. Do You?” while en route to visit a detention center housing migrant children.
“What did it mean?” asked NPR’s Ted Robbins. “Zara did not respond to an email asking to explain its inspiration for the jacket.” Her shoes, often strikingly dramatic high heels, have also made headlines on multiple occasions, like in this instance when she wore them to plan a tree.