Source: Olivier Douliery-Pool / Getty
Last week, on Thursday, March 10th, President and Mrs. Obama hosted a state dinner for visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife. The Obama sisters, Mallia and Sasha, got to attend the event, their first since their Dad was elected President. You can only imagine how excited they were, to be in attendance at such a “grown-up” affair! Both girls looked stunning and sophisticated in designer gowns, estimated to cost between $17,000 and $20,000!
Of course, once the price of their gowns became public, the haters jumped on it, with numerous negative tweets and with even ABC San Francisco News Anchor Kristen Sze tweeting “14 yr old Sasha Obama wears $20,000 dress to state dinner. #moms, would you let ur teen wear such pricey duds?” Don’t worry, though, the Obama supporters on Twitter swooped right in with support, to the extent that Ms. Sze finally deleted her tweet and tweeted an apology, saying “Sorry my Obama girls dress tweet failed 2 come x as intended. Was trying 2 have mom convo on cost of clothing. #majorfail” and “Sasha & Malia looked amazing at State Dinner! Super happy they got 2 attend one in dad’s last year in office.” And one final tweet, “Deleted tweets when realized they failed big time. Didn’t mean 2 hurt any feelings. #mybad” How many times were the Bush girls or Chelsea Clinton criticized for the cost of their clothes? Thank you!
To begin with, the Obamas are the first family of the United States. Shouldn’t they be appropriately dressed for a state dinner, even if the girls are still in their teens? Secondly, Barack and Michelle are wealthy people, and the government does not pay for Mrs. Obama’s or her daughters’ clothing. Mrs. Obama pays for her own, thank you very much – and she can afford it! Further, often those pricey gowns are loaned by the designers for obvious reasons! The First Lady’s press secretary added that “Mrs. Obama pays for her clothing. For official events of public or historic significance, such as a state visit, the first lady’s clothes may be given as a gift by a designer and accepted on behalf of the U.S. government. They are then stored by the National Archives.”
Back off, haters! Our stunning First Family, the Obamas, will leave the White House early next year; maybe then you’ll find some real issues to tweet about!
by Jerry Wells – based on articles on TheRoot.com and Buzzfeed.com
