As First Lady Melania Trump descended from Air Force One in Saudi Arabia on Saturday morning, she was notably not wearing a headscarf.
The Muslim nation requires women to dress very conservatively in a black robe that covers the entire body when in public. Many Saudi women also cover their hair and face with a niqab.
Previous first ladies have also gone to the Islamic kingdom without covering their hair, such as Laura Bush and Michelle Obama.
Some liberals on Twitter pointed to President Trump’s 2015 tweet where he criticized Michelle Obama for the same thing. At the time, Trump tweeted:
Many people are saying it was wonderful that Mrs. Obama refused to wear a scarf in Saudi Arabia, but they were insulted.We have enuf enemies
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2015
Predictable snarkiness followed:
There are people on Twitter praising Melania Trump for not wearing a headscarf and saying they are finally proud of a first lady. Ahem…. https://t.co/ciQA8rNaY5
— Christina Reynolds (@creynoldsnc) May 20, 2017
In 2015, Trump ripped Michelle Obama for insulting Saudi Arabia by not wearing a headscarf. So today…. https://t.co/Gfs9rDecSj pic.twitter.com/PD0tOlq9xs
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) May 20, 2017
29 Jan 2015. For the record, neither Melania nor Ivanka is wearing a head scarf today. https://t.co/Xj9yhVlccH
— Elliott Lusztig (@ezlusztig) May 20, 2017
Some Twitter users were mad that the lack of a headscarf was being praised at all, but it is technically not required for foreigners to cover hair.
AGAIN – this is not a thing. Foreigners are not required to cover hair in Saudi. She has done nothing extraordinary https://t.co/yyK3BTSD01
— Fatima Manji (@fatimamanji) May 20, 2017
On headscarves — Melania & Ivanka didn’t cover their heads (nor did Hillary, Merkel or May), despite Donald’s tweet https://t.co/xlu9q1Bd3P
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) May 20, 2017