President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused “deranged” media outlets of digitally editing pictures of first lady Melania Trump and fanning the flames of conspiracy theories that the first lady employed a body double last week on the couple’s trip to survey tornado damage in Alabama.
The unfounded “Fake Melania” theory, which purports that the first lady uses a stand-in to appear at certain events alongside the president, resurfaced on Twitter this week following the Trumps’ trip to Alabama and was further amplified when the panel on ABC’s “The View” devoted a segment to discussing the theory.
“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,” Trump claimed Wednesday in a tweet. “They are only getting more deranged with time!”
The president offered no evidence to support his claim that members of the media had intentionally photoshopped images of the first lady in order to stir controversy — a move that would amount to a major ethical breach on the part of a press outlet.
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