OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The White House unveiled its holiday decorations on Monday and it didn’t take long for many social media users to notice some strange details.
First Lady Jill Biden titled her Christmas theme, “Gifts from the Heart,” where she said she wanted to showcase “things that unite and heal and bring us together.”
A statement says Biden was “inspired by small acts of kindness and experiences that lifted our spirits this year and throughout the pandemic.”
“Inspired by the acts of kindness and experiences that lifted our spirits this year, decorated rooms in the White House reflect the Gifts from the Heart that unite us all: faith, family, friendship, the arts, learning, nature, gratitude, service, community, peace, and unity,” Biden tweeted along with several images from the White House.
Inspired by the acts of kindness and experiences that lifted our spirits this year, decorated rooms in the White House reflect the Gifts from the Heart that unite us all: faith, family, friendship, the arts, learning, nature, gratitude, service, community, peace, and unity. pic.twitter.com/fsaYFthIqH
— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) November 29, 2021
It didn’t take long for social media users to voice their displeasure with Biden’s full decor and even compare it to how former First Lady Melania Trump decorated the White House:
Jill Biden’s Christmas decorations for the entrance to the East Wing pic.twitter.com/pjaQ9yrhxB
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 29, 2021
Jill Biden forces little children to mask and social distance at the White House while she does neither.
This is beyond stupid. This is a cruel and sick abuse to children for a Christmas celebration.Share this to shame these wicked people. pic.twitter.com/fDLpd3ev6S
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) November 29, 2021
Bring back Melania Trump, Jill Biden is TERRIBLE! pic.twitter.com/jWYxYcZ7wR
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) November 30, 2021
I’m sorry but that is hideous.
— Amy (@mom2sassybeau) November 29, 2021
Melania did it so much better… pic.twitter.com/99kpYcBvbi
— brainsprain1 (@BrainSprain1) November 29, 2021
The Associated Press reported:
The first lady, a longtime community college professor, invited Maryland second graders for Monday’s unveiling of the holiday decorations. They were inspired by people the president and first lady met while traveling around the country this year, according to the White House.
Frontline workers are also represented in the iridescent doves and shooting stars that illuminate the East Colonnade hallway, “representing the peace and light brought to us by all the front-line workers and first responders during the pandemic,” the guidebook says.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the White House holiday season in other ways, though it remained unclear how parties and receptions may be tweaked to compensate for it.
“More than 100 volunteers decorated the White House, including the Oval Office, while the Bidens spent Thanksgiving week in Nantucket, Massachusetts. They trimmed 41 Christmas trees and hung some 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) of ribbon and more than 10,000 ornaments,” the AP reported.
“Twenty-five wreaths adorn the exterior of the White House, and nearly 79,000 lights illuminate the Christmas trees, garlands, wreaths, and other holiday displays. Christmas stockings for each of the Biden grandchildren — Naomi, Finnegan, Maisy, Natalie, Hunter, and baby Beau — hang from the fireplace mantel in the State Dining Room, which celebrates family, while two trees in that stately room are decorated with framed Biden family photos and photos of other first families during the holiday season,” the outlet added.
