Melania Trump body double story divides the Internet

The internet is flooded with reactions following social media posts asserting that the US First Lady Melania Trump has a body double. Tweets were off to the races as gif-makers, jokesters, Trump supporters and critics vied to make the case.

“This is not Melania - to think they would go this far and try and make us think it’s her on TV is mind blowing,” Joe Vargas, who goes by the Twitter handle BuyLegalMeds, wrote. He said this made him wonder what else is a lie. The video he posted on Wednesday was taken from CNN.

Last week, actress Andrea Wagner Barton posted a Facebook status, in which she asked the real first lady to please stand up. The post has been shared over 97,000 times as of Wednesday.

The “proof” people use to suggest Melania has a body double include a similar-looking “secret service agent” and US President Donald Trump’s alleged slip-ups regarding his wife's whereabouts. Some notice the first lady's sometimes altered appearance.

For instance, the FLOTUS sported her signature black frames at her husband’s press conference about hurricane relief on Wednesday, and many people who seemed convinced that the first lady had a body double under the dark shades took to Twitter to share their observation. Speculations heightened when the president introduced her by saying Melania “happens to be right here.”

Some people think that the idea of Trump’s wife having a double is silly. "Okay look this Melania body-double travels with Trump story is silly- I mean where would they find another woman willing to go places with him," a Twitter user wrote. Trump supporters appear not surprised, with some saying liberals who believe in #TrumpRussia theories would believe that Melania is using a body double.

Others seem convinced. “Wow, that is totally not her- look at that harsh contour on her nose, I've studied her face totally doesn't look like her to me," a commenter wrote. Others agree that the Melania double theory is the “new Avril Lavigne was replaced by a look alike.”

Theories about Melania body double have been circulating online for months. But Melania was not the only FLOTUS accused of employing stand-ins. Fans have suspected that Hillary Clinton used a body double, renowned Clinton impersonator Teresa Barnwell.

This week, Melania will participate in a time-honoured Washington tradition dating back more than 100 years. She will reportedly donate her inaugural ballgown to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.