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

Andy Ogles; Bad Bunny
Heather Diehl/Getty Images; Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

MAGA Rep. Dragged After Claiming Bad Bunny's Halftime Show Depicted 'Gay Pornography'

Tennessee Republican Representative Andy Ogles was widely mocked after he claimed Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show was "pure smut" that depicted "gay pornography"—even going so far as to write a letter to the Energy and Commerce Committee demanding "a formal congressional inquiry" into the "indecent broadcast."

The rapper, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, delivered a largely Spanish-language show that has been hailed as a "love letter to Puerto Rico" and that drew from his latest album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, which won the Grammy for Album of the Year just a week ago.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chris Brown (left) and Bad Bunny (right) are pictured separately amid online backlash and praise following Bad Bunny’s record-breaking Super Bowl halftime performance.
Marc Piasecki/WireImage; Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Chris Brown Slammed After Appearing To Throw Bizarre Shade At Bad Bunny's Halftime Show

Bad Bunny’s record-breaking halftime show pulled in over 135 million viewers—fans, stans, casual watchers, and yes, professional haters who tune in just to be mad. Which brings me to the loudest one in the room: Chris Brown.

Brown took to social media to offer an unsolicited—and frankly bizarre—reaction to the Puerto Rico-inspired performance, posting a cryptic message that immediately rubbed people the wrong way.

Keep ReadingShow less
Todd Richards; Big Air Snowboarder Seungeun Yu
@btoddrichards/Instagram; Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images

NBC Broadcaster Speaks Out After He's Caught On Hot Mic Trashing Men's Snowboarding Competition At Olympics

Well, we've officially got our first hot mic oopsie of the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics!

Broadcaster Todd Richards took to Instagram Sunday to apologize for comments he made during the men's big air snowboarding event that he didn't realize were being broadcast.

Keep ReadingShow less
Amber Glenn; Donald Trump
Andy Cheung/Getty Images; Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Olympic Figure Skater Reveals 'Scary Amount' Of Threats She Got After Her Criticism Of Trump

Amber Glenn, the first openly queer woman to represent the U.S. in figure skating, spoke out in an Instagram post about the torrent of threats she's received after criticizing President Donald Trump's treatment of the LGBTQ+ community.

Glenn had voiced criticism of the Trump administration earlier in the week during a pre-Olympics press conference, describing the period as especially difficult for herself and others in the LGBTQ+ community. Her comments were among several political statements made by U.S. athletes in the run-up to the Winter Games in Milan, Italy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rick Scott
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

MAGA Senator Slammed After Saying U.S. Olympians Critical Of Trump Should Be 'Stripped Of Their Olympic Uniform'

Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott was slammed after sharing a video criticizing U.S. Olympians who are conflicted about representing the United States amid President Donald Trump's controversial policies.

Scott spoke out after multiple Olympians made headlines for criticizing the Trump administration amid its nationwide immigration crackdown.

Keep ReadingShow less