Conspiracies about people being replaced or cloned are not uncommon by any means for celebrities or persons of interest, but Melania Trump’s body double theory has been around for years, and people won’t forget it.
There was the Avril Lavigne conspiracy which saw her be accused of replacing the real Avril and taking over her life.
There was also the Jamie Foxx clone theory, which came after his traumatic hospitalisation, where people stated that he is no longer the same person.
Advert
There are the Diddy clone accusations after he was arrested on several charges regarding racketeering and sexual assault.
In fact, most celebrities have been subjected to this talk, but the First Lady of the United States has been the latest victim, after her latest appearance caused the rumour to resurface.
So, if you’ve not heard about it yet, be prepared to deep dive into everything.
What is the 'Melania Trump body double conspiracy'?
According to people online, Melania has either has shunned public appearances and a body double actress has been hired to stand in her place.
Advert
One person wrote: "Has their been another sitting President in the Televisual age that’s been quite so brazen as to use a body double of the First Lady on the campaign trail? I think not. Up their with my favourite conspiracy theories. The evidence is well... compelling. "
Another claimed: "We know this isn't Melania because Melania doesn't smile."
Someone else theorised: "Way way too cozy. Melania doesn’t let trump touch her. It was a body double. Dead giveaway also the trench coat and sunglasses."
When did the rumours about Melania Trump having a body double start?
All the way back to 2017, US president Donald Trump visited Secret Service agents after the hurricanes in Florida.
Advert
At the time, a video circulated online which showed Melania standing as still as a statue, wearing giant sunglasses as Trump remarked: “My wife Melania…who happens to be right here.”
Social media took no time doing what it does best - spreading insane rumours -, and the theory that the FLOTUS uses a body double has lingered online ever since.
When do people think they've spotted Melania Trump's body double?
2019
In March 2019, Donald and Melania visited an Alabama tornado site after it devastated the area.
Advert
Here, people believed that Melania looked taller, her teeth appeared different, and her nose was rounder.
2020
When Melania joined her husband’s campaign in Florida in 2020, social media blew up with accusations that she looked ‘happier’ than normal, and so that must have meant that she was a stand-in.
She was also seen on the White House lawn and in Nashville, which was tweeted about by film director Zack Bornstein, who remarked on Melania being fake.
Advert
He wrote: "The only thing I’ll miss from this administration is them swapping in new Melanias and just pretending we won’t notice like a 4-year-old with a guppy."
A debate was later started where people shared how she must be fake as: "Looks nothing like her. It has to have been the real one at the debate - with the hand snatching and exuding utter misery. This is someone else entirely."
2023
In April, after Donald’s indictment in New York over his lengthy legal woes regarding state charges which saw Melania pictured at Mar-a-Lago, people thought she looked different around her eyes and jawline.
However, as we know with Demi Levato's 'Poot' meme, it's all in the angles, and anyone can look different in certain lighting.
2025
Earlier this year, eyebrows were raised at her appearance back in January for Donald Trump's inauguration for looking different, as well as her November appearance alongside Trump, 78, at West Palm Beach last year.
Conspiracy theorists are also convinced that a Melania’s 'body double' was used at Pope Francis’ funeral. The FLOTUS was wearing a black veil which covered her face for most of the day, leading people to speculate that she was a body double who was using the covering to hide herself from view.
Is it true that Melania Trump has a body double?
Whether people think Melania is a secret agent or body guard is something that has been questioned online, but Jonathan Wackrow, a former Secret Service agent told CNN that ‘the United States Secret Service doesn't use body doubles’.
"Mrs. Trump's lead agent is a woman ... and she happens to look a little like her, but physically, she is much shorter," he said.
He also said the lead agent spent time with former President Barack Obama's family, which made her a good fit for Donald.
"Those are the sorts of details considered, not at all whether an agent is some sort of body double," he added.
While her husband and secretary have both come out to dismiss the accusations, the White House has never commented on the matter.
Back in 2019, Trump himself hit back at comments that his wife was being replaced by an actor.
He said in a tweet that photos of his wife had been altered to make it look like she had been replaced by a look-alike when they went to survey tornado damage, stating: “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!”
It was spoken about on The View where contributor Ana Navarro-Cardenas said: “Let’s have fun with Melania. She’s beautiful, and we’re doing this in jest.”
Abby Huntsman, a Republican asked: “Does that make it better?”
To this, co-host Joy Behar, said: “We’re not here to be better people. We’re here to have a good laugh.”
In response, Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s spokeswoman, explained that the episode ‘went beyond the petty mean-girl spirit that we’ve grown accustomed to’.
“People died, people lost family, people are hurting in Alabama,” Grisham said in an email as per AP. “I personally watched the president and first lady hug, listen to and comfort people who had lost everything - and the ‘ladies’ of The View instead chose to laugh and joke about a body-double conspiracy.”
TYLA has reached out to the White House for comment.
Topics: Melania Trump, Donald Trump, US News, Politics
Britt Jones