There is an unhealthy level of dumb in American politics. But this story takes the cake.
Presidential candidate Nikki Haley recently faced criticism on social media for wearing an off-white gown to her daughter Rena’s wedding ceremony. Haley, who is also a former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the United Nations, posted a family photo on social media, expressing her joy and gratitude for the occasion.
“We had the sweetest weekend celebrating Rena and Josh,” she wrote.”Thankful for our sweet family and friends who joined us in supporting and celebrating them. Rena and Josh, we could not be more proud of both of you!”
Nikki Haley faces backlash for wearing off-white dress to daughter’s wedding https://t.co/0fz2pesidJ pic.twitter.com/HkemxlwLYt
— New York Post (@nypost) April 21, 2023
Apparently, the dress she wore was a problem for some rocket scientists on Twitter looking for something to be outraged about.
One user wrote, “Did the mother of the bride wear WHITE?”
Another chided Haley for wearing the “almost white dress.” She wrote: “Ummmm why the hell are you wearing an almost white dress that easily could have been a wedding dress??? That was very selfish of you to try to steal her spotlight but given how much you want all the attention on you, it doesn’t surprise me.”
Similar comments followed, with some users lamenting that Haley’s dress was too close to white to be appropriate for a mother of the bride.
In reality, it was a gold-colored dress. The lighting made it look as if it were an off-white color, as if that really matters.
Later in the day, Haley clapped back on Twitter, with a screenshot showing an email from a reporter asking for comment about the supposed controversy.
“This is why people don’t trust the media,” Haley wrote. “Liberal ‘journalists’ spend their time harassing conservatives about outfit choices.”
This is why people don’t trust the media. Liberal “journalists” spend their time harassing conservatives about outfit choices. Grow up, @Newsweek.
P.S. The dress was gold. pic.twitter.com/zDPTFPZSsl
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) April 21, 2023
Haley also clarified that the “dress was gold.”
To be fair, most of the comments on the picture were complimentary. But the fact that a reporter felt it necessary to treat this as an important enough story to reach out to Haley speaks volumes. Were they trying to turn this into a bigger issue than it was in reality?
This reminded me of the silly controversy that ensued when former President Barack Obama committed the cardinal sin of wearing a tan suit. It was silly then, and it’s silly now.
Some media outlets are still covering it as if it is news. In fact, the reporter who reached out to Haley published a story about it. Yes, this whole thing is about as goofy as a soup sandwich, but at least they aren’t trying to use her not-white dress as an actual attack against her, yet.
But nobody should be surprised if we see op-eds in the Washington Post and New York Times discussing how gold dresses are somehow a symbol of white supremacy and a desire to preserve a white nationalist nation. After all, the ridiculous has become normal in American politics, has it not?
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