How Melania Trump is the Bizarro Version of Princess Diana

The First Lady’s comic book struggles to find herself

8 min readDec 2, 2020

Photo Source: Twitter

Bizarro Michelle Obama

On the evening of July 18th, 2016, when now First Lady Melania Trump was introduced to the world at the Republican National Convention, she delivered a speech that many have claimed was plagiarized from Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic National Convention speech.

Once the gaffe was identified in the media the next day, there was at first a denial from her husband Donald Trump’s campaign team, and then there was an admission of guilt. It wasn’t her fault, some had said. It was the speechwriter.

They asked the public to believe that she was the victim, not the perpetrator of this word crime. This alibi, while protecting her from direct blame for the stumble, also correctly exposed her as a person without a real message of her own.

She wasn’t Michelle Obama. The speech sounded like Michelle Obama. She wanted to inspire like Michelle Obama.

Instead, she did the opposite. She was uninspiring.

The First Lady’s speech, for some reason, reminded me that, in the DC comic book universe, there’s a cube-shaped planet known as the Bizarro World where almost everything is the opposite of what it should normally be on earth.

Up means down. Black means white. Yes means no.

There is even a Bizarro version of Superman on this planet. He looks like Superman, but he isn’t Superman.

To me, on our own very real planet, Melania Trump was the Bizarro version of Michelle Obama that night in July of 2016.

In the years since then, however, she has developed a completely new superpower. She has developed the ability to take on her favorite attributes of many other popular female icons and make them into her very own Bizarro version.

Bizarro Jackie-O

Photo Source: Twitter

Did you watch the inauguration on January 20, 2017? There stood Melania Trump in a Ralph Lauren retro powder blue dress and coat, fully channeling the ghost of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

Yes, Jackie-O wore a very similar outfit to her husband’s inauguration way back in the 1960s. Mrs. Trump’s mimicry was so complete that she even included the elbow-length light blue gloves.

There were differences, of course, but not enough to fool you into believing her style was her own. She didn’t stop there. As time marches on, the current First Lady continues to take her style cues from the fabulous Jackie-O.

She wants to replicate the grace and beauty of that style icon.

But on that inauguration day, in the moment when the President turned and smiled at Mrs. Trump, and we watched her smile transform into a frown when he wasn’t looking, it became clear that it is all an act.

This is a trademark of Bizarro characters. They appear like the real thing, but there are differences, and if you look closely you will see them clearly.

Bizarro Nancy Reagan

“Me am real Superman” — Bizarro Superman

When the First Lady unveiled the title of her anti-cyberbullying initiative, on May 7th, 2018, we should have all recognized the characteristic Bizarro cadence.

The slogan, “Be Best”, was missing something.

But what was it?

It was the ‘the’, of course. It should have been “Be the Best”. Everyone knows this. I would have even accepted “Be Better”.

“Be Best” makes no sense.

It’s a failed attempt at a catchy slogan. This is a slogan that desperately wants to have the impact of Nancy Reagan‘s popular “Just Say No” rallying cry.

‘Be Best’ at not cyberbullying? Being best at not doing something seems like a weird concept.

To make matters worse, the subject of anti-bullying is something that comes off as disingenuous, given that Trump’s husband is probably the most prolific cyber bully on the planet.

So, in classic Bizarro fashion, when Mrs. Trump advises the world to stop bullying people online, people are reminded that online bullying is acceptable in her family’s version of America.

Bizarro Princess Diana

Photo Source: Twitter

In October of 2018, the First Lady took her first solo trip abroad. She visited Africa, with the stated goal of educating herself on the issues facing children across the continent while learning about its rich history.

“There are many programs across the country that are doing great things for children, and I believe we can replicate many of these programs overseas”

In the 2 years since the trip, what has been accomplished as a result of her visits? A review of the Be Best website shows that she took a few more trips abroad for the same implicit purpose, but with virtually no real action coming as a result.

If you close one eye, these might remind you of the trips that the late Princess Diana used to take around the world. The difference with the Queen of Hearts’ missions was that they actually led to concrete results.

When Diana visited Africa, for example, after reading about the high number of amputees in Angola, a treaty was later signed by 22 countries agreeing to ban the use of the landmines that had caused these injuries.

Mrs. Trump’s efforts in Africa appear to be nothing more than a photo opportunity. She wanted to look like Princess Diana. She was filmed with children. She was filmed walking near the pyramids.

Those pictures were a hollow reminder of a more iconic leader.

Finally, what does a Bizarro world figure wear when she takes a diplomatic trip to a foreign country to learn about their culture?

Well, fittingly, Bizarro Princess Diana wore a Pith helmet, an insulting symbol of colonial rule across Africa, and one that contradicted the supposed reason for her voyage.

Bizarro Mother Teresa

In early October 2020, secretly recorded conversations between Mrs. Trump and former confidant Stephanie Winston Wolkoff were released. In those tapes, amongst other revelations, the First Lady reveals her feelings about the treatment of the immigrant children who are being detained at the US-Mexico border.

“They say, ‘What about the children that are separated?’ Give me a f — -ing break. I was trying to get the kid reunited with the mom. I didn’t have a chance. It needs to go through the process and the law.”

Mrs. Trump had famously visited the border to see the conditions and was roundly criticized for wearing a coat with the words “I don’t really care, do you?” emblazoned on it.

At the time, she was positioning the visit as a way for her to understand the reality of the conditions at the border. Behind the scenes, she was apparently working on uniting a child with their parents.

But why was she doing this?

In a bumbling way, she was doing this because she wanted to appear as if she was a missionary. She wanted to take the appearance of a sympathetic figure. She wanted to seem like a modern-day Mother Teresa, flying in to take care of the children.

Later in the audiotapes, she laments the fact that the news did not pick up on her efforts to reunite the parents with the child. Unlike Mother Teresa, the work wasn’t the most important thing to her. It was the recognition that she craved.

Most damning of all, Bizarro Mother Teresa admitted that she chose to wear the inflammatory jacket because she enjoyed ‘driving liberals crazy’.

Yes, the jacket that contradicted her expressed intent for the trip was actually something she decided to wear for that purpose. That is a classic Bizarro move.

The takeaway: Bizarro Trump

As I consider all the different people that Mrs. Trump has tried to emulate in an effort to find her own identity, I start to realize that her husband, the President, went through a similar identity crisis.

Donald Trump is a Bizarro Liberal.

He donated money to the Democratic party. Now he’s a Republican.

He used to be Pro-Choice. Now he’s Pro-Life.

He was in favor of stronger gun control. Now he’s a staunch supporter of the 2nd amendment.

He was a Hilary Clinton supporter, and then he wasn’t.

Did he have a change of heart, all of a sudden?

No.

It was only when he finally decided to run for the Presidency that he made the decision to switch his beliefs and alliances publicly.

For Donald Trump, the reason to change positions is obvious: He is opportunistic. He knew those positions appealed to a great number of voters. He knew that he could use these positions to help him garner support for his political run.

Some observers have questioned why Melania married Donald Trump. After all, she is 24 years his junior. Is it a marriage of love or convenience? What could they possibly have in common?

As one thinks about the First Lady’s ongoing battle to reinvent herself in the image of other women, the answer to the above question becomes clear. She shares in common with the President a willingness to forgo any and all parts of herself in the pursuit of achieving her goals.

In the case of Donald Trump, the goal is power and wealth.

In Melania, we have a Bizarro image of a First Lady. She is constantly trying to look and sound like someone who is admired and respected.

In the end, as her efforts are only surface and shallow, it is obvious to everyone that she will only succeed in getting the opposite reaction.

How Melania Trump is the Bizarro Version of Princess Diana

The First Lady’s comic book struggles to find herself

Bizarro Michelle Obama

Bizarro Jackie-O

Bizarro Nancy Reagan

Bizarro Princess Diana

Bizarro Mother Teresa

The takeaway: Bizarro Trump

Written by Hardikpandaya