Is this a Melania Trump body double? Conspiracy theory resurfaces ...

No, there is no Melania Trump body double hanging out with the president-elect.

A photo of Donald Trump and Melania, sporting a pair of dark sunglasses, voting at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach, Florida, on November 5, was widely shared with this ludicrous claim.

Donald Trump’s stunning victory in the 2024 US presidential elections has had at least one unforeseen consequence. The resurgence of an old — and wild — conspiracy theory: the Melania Trump we see accompanying the president-elect is allegedly a body double! Yes, you did not read that wrong.

A photo of Donald and his wife Melania, sporting a pair of dark sunglasses, voting at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach, Florida, on November 5, was widely shared with this ludicrous claim. Similar photos and videos from the polling booth have been published by many American news agencies. One such photo shot by photojournalist Chip Somodevilla can be seen on the website of Getty Images as well.

Some went so far as to even compare the sunglassed Melania seen in these photos with photos of the “real” Melania. The so-called real Melania Trump’s photos were from Donald Trump’s closing rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Photos and videos from the event make that clear.

It doesn’t bear mentioning, but let’s do it anyway: there is no Melania Trump body double hanging out with the president-elect. A Snopes report notes that “in-person voters in Florida bring identification, or sign an affidavit of identity, or vote on a provisional ballot if they don't have identification. Anyone pretending to be Melania at the polling station would be in violation of election rules.”

So, why are some people claiming otherwise? To get to the bottom of this, one has to look at where the conspiracy theory emerged from.

The origin

One of the earliest mentions of this outlandish claim was in a BBC report from October 19, 2017, titled, “Is Donald Trump using a fake Melania? Conspiracy theories flood social media.” This report detailed how footage of Melania Trump in sunglasses next to her husband has got many wondering if a body double was being used. This was exacerbated by Trump, who said while speaking on the White House lawn, "My wife Melania, who happens to be right here."

According to a Vox explainer about the conspiracy theory from around the time, a man named Joe Vargas posted that the “Melania Trump” who appeared at the event was not the real first lady, but an impostor lookalike. This post was reportedly retweeted over 60,000 times.

Why did this theory get popular?

Why does any conspiracy theory get popular? The US has been a hotbed for ridiculous conspiracy theories for some time now. Even a decade ago, researchers found that about half of all Americans believed in some conspiracy or other.

According to a paper in the European Journal of Social Psychology, “a small part in motivating the endorsement of such seemingly irrational beliefs is the desire to stick out from the crowd, the need for uniqueness.” Basically, people like to be seen in possession of obscure knowledge. According to another University of Nottingham paper, “People are attracted to conspiracy theories in an attempt to satisfy three psychological needs. They want more certainty, to feel in control, and maintain a positive image of their self and group.”

Add these to a general mistrust in what is somewhat derogatorily called “the mainstream media” and an existing conspiracy/wish-fulfilment theory from the era — that Melania Trump actually hates Donald Trump — and you get a compelling narrative. That Melania does not want to accompany her husband to events and, therefore, the establishment had to create a body double to maintain the “illusion” of a happy marriage. Just look no further than this old HuffPost report that screams: “Melania Trump has a really hard time holding her husband’s hand. Don’t believe it? Here’s the proof.”

As Vox notes, “It’s a theory that may say more about what we’re willing to project on Melania Trump than anything she’s ever done.”

So there’s no Melania body double?

No. Or at least, no one can really say so with any authority other than the Trumps, the White House, and maybe some national security personnel in the US.