Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Melania Trump's Icy New Official Portrait Looks Like It's Straight Out Of 'House Of Cards'

Melania Trump; Robin Wright as Claire Underwood in 'House of Cards'
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Netflix

The First Lady is all business in her new official portrait—and some think she gives off a Claire Underwood vibe from the Netflix political drama House of Cards.

First Lady Melania Trump's new official White House portrait has been unveiled, and to many people online the vibes are very off—specifically in a House of Cards kind of way.

The wildly popular, award-winning Netflix series about Washington machinations took a fairly dim and sinister view of our nation's capital, so it only makes sense that a dim and sinister administration would want to emulate it.


Perhaps it was just an accident, but that certainly seems to be what was on Melania Trump's mind, as for many, her portrait called to mind Claire Underwood, the female lead of House of Cards played by Robin Wright.

@jlgolson/X

Underwood was the cunningly icy wife of the diabolical and power-hungry Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, whose ice-cold, calculating stare became part of the iconic look of the show.

But the portrait also comes with an overwrought flair that is vintage Trump—though the photo was reportedly shot in the Yellow Oval Room in the White House, the First Lady is depicted leaning over a conference table in a power suit like a corporate raider. Subtlety has never been this family's forte.

RELATED: Trump's New Portrait Was Unveiled—And People Think One Side Of His Face Looks Like Biden

As many have noted, the portrait is a stark break from the usual First Lady portrait, including Melania Trump's own in 2017, which typically aims to project warmth and approachability (though the 2017 version certainly dispensed with this far more than her predecessors).

There's not an iota of warmth to be found in this one—it lands somewhere between corporate headshot and fashion mag camp. It's basically oligarchy chic.

But the parallels between it and Claire Underwood aren't just theoretical—there are even images of Wright as Claire Underwood that seem like outright templates for the First Lady's photo.

And on social media, the parallel was practically all anyone could see—especially given the way House of Cards ended.



Melania Trump’s office has released her official portrait - the other is House Of Cards

[image or embed]
— Olga Nesterova (@onestpress.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 6:13 PM



Meet first lady Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) from de series House of Cards. Oh, wait… #Melania

[image or embed]
— Rosalynn 🇳🇱 (@rosa-lynn.bsky.social) January 28, 2025 at 1:14 PM

Anyway, we hope the Trump-voting public were wishing for a full-scale corporate-style raiding of the country, because it seems pretty clear that's what we're getting.

More from Entertainment/tv-and-movies

dog and cat snuggling together
Krista Mangulsone on Unsplash

Times Pet Owners 'Severely Underestimated' Their Pets' Intelligence

I've lived with cats—because no one owns a feline—most of my life. Some have been very clever creatures while others were real dingbats.

Family members have owned dogs whose talents also ran the gamut.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom; Sean Duffy
Mauro Pimentel/AFP via Getty Images; Eric Lee/Getty Images

Gavin Newsom Hits Sean Duffy With Gross Reminder After Duffy Tells People To Keep Shoes On During Flights

After Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy spoke out about air travel etiquette and not wearing pajamas or taking your shoes off on an airplane, California Governor Gavin Newsom called him out by reminding him of the time then-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—now the Health and Human Services Secretary—walked around on a plane barefoot.

Duffy recently appeared at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, to discuss his efforts to “restore courtesy and class to air travel” by arguing that people taking more pride in their appearance on flights.

Keep ReadingShow less
Scott Bessent
Meet the Press/NBC News

Scott Bessent Blasted Over His Bonkers Suggestion For How To Bring Your Own Inflation Rate Down

Continuing to follow the example of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared on Meet the Press Sunday to blame Democratic President Joe Biden for the financial downturn caused by Trump's tariff fiasco, then lied repeatedly about the state of the economy.

Meet the Press host Kristen Welker played a clip of MAGA Republican Vice President JD Vance telling a conservative audience at a Breitbart News event that Americans owe the Trump administration "a little bit of patience"—apparently while they figure out what tariffs are and how they work since they're rolling back more of them to lower consumer prices despite claiming Trump's tariffs don't affect consumer prices.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lindsay Lohan attends the men's final during day fifteen of the 2025 US Open Tennis Championships at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Elsa/Getty Images

Lindsay Lohan Is Now Sporting A New Accent—And Fans Aren't Sure What To Make Of It

In a twist freakier than a sequel to Freaky Friday, Lindsay Lohan has debuted yet another new accent—this time at the Fashion Trust Arabia Awards in Doha, Qatar.

Draped in a maroon, jewel-trimmed gown by The New Arrivals Ilkyaz Ozel and accompanied by her husband, Bader Shammas, and their 2-year-old son, Luai, the actress looked serene, elegant, and completely unbothered by the collective whiplash she was about to inflict on the internet.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jameela Jamil
Gilbert Flores/Variety/Getty Images

Jameela Jamil Speaks Out Against The Rise Of The 'Aesthetic Of Emaciation' Among Women In Hollywood

Content Warning: eating disorders, thinness as an aesthetic, emaciation in Hollywood

There's no denying that we've been gifted with some incredible music, television shows, and films this year.

Keep ReadingShow less