As Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump cast their vote Tuesday, a video of the former president wearing his red "Make America Great Again" hat and his wife wearing a pair of dark sunglasses circulated online --- leading some on social media to question why she wore the glasses inside, even rekindling an old, unsubstantiated conspiracy theory.
The editor-in-chief of the left-leaning news website MeidasTouch, Ron Filipkowski, posted the 15-second video of the couple in Palm Beach, Florida, on Election Day with the caption: "Melania’s been wearing sunglasses inside all day today."
The former first lady took off her sunglasses at one point as the former president thanked his campaign staff, further debunking the false theory.
The somewhat low-quality footage, which has been seen over five million times on X, was met with online skeptics claiming -- with no evidence -- the reason the former first lady is wearing shades indoors is to hide that she's not actually Melania.
Melania’s been wearing sunglasses inside all day today. pic.twitter.com/4Wv3PwyA2h
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) November 5, 2024
A "fake Melania" or body double theory has circulated online for quite some time without any apparent proof.
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The choice to wear sunglasses inside seems to be the galvanizing factor that has people speculating across social media.
Local
At Tuesday's appearance, a Getty photographer snapped multiple angles of the former president and first lady as they voted at a polling place in the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center.
Melania was wearing sunglasses in some of the images but she later took them off leading to clear photos of her face.
The dress that the former first lady is seen wearing Tuesday has also been worn by her before.
In an interview on Fox News that aired in September, where she opened up about Trump's assassination attempt in July, Melania wore what appears to be the same black polka-dot Dior dress. The garment was identified by an Instagram blog, @flotusfashionista, which chronicles outfits worn by all the first ladies.
