Thanks? Melania Trump gifted Michelle Obama with a blue Tiffany & Co. box prior to the inauguration on Friday, January 20, an awkward moment that sparked numerous memes online. Relive the awkward interaction in the video above!
Per tradition, outgoing President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle welcomed President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, to the White House early Friday morning before the inauguration, with Melania presenting her predecessor with a gift that seemingly took Michelle by surprise.
The outgoing FLOTUS, 53, looked around for someone to hand the box off to so the foursome could take an official photograph together, but it appeared no one was on-hand to grab the gift. President Obama eventually took the box from Michelle, telling the group, “Hold on a sec. We will take care of protocol.”
The Internet instantly picked up on Michelle’s look of uncertainty and bewilderment, with memes cropping up online soon after. “The only good moment of this inauguration is Michelle Jim-facing the camera like, ‘Why did she give me this box,’” one user tweeted in reference to The Office character Jim Halpert.
the only good moment of this inauguration is michelle jim-facing the camera like “why did she give me this box” pic.twitter.com/WoGAWfKS0l
— jomny sun (@jonnysun) January 20, 2017
Melania giving Michelle her speech back pic.twitter.com/p5vSekmoGs
— I Follow Back (@Tweets_2Dope) January 20, 2017
same, @MichelleObama pic.twitter.com/rrUBWrsDrZ
— Tyler Oakley (@tyleroakley) January 20, 2017
We are all Michelle Obama today pic.twitter.com/lUZKP2mNU5
— Sarcasm (@TheFunnyTeens) January 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/withlove_eb/status/822471493787537408
Michelle Obama after getting a Tiffany’s gift box from Melania: pic.twitter.com/QRQWDbbNi9
— Melanie Schmitz (@MelsLien) January 20, 2017
Michelle Obama is not impressed by Melania Trump’s gift giving ability. pic.twitter.com/QxJzQGnQDa
— Adam Johnson (@AdamJ_NBAGL) January 20, 2017
*Michelle Obama opens Tiffany box from Melania and sees note* “Take me with you. I didn’t vote for Donald either. Baron is a monster. Help.”
— Ad Absurdum (@_AdAbsurdum_) January 20, 2017
Melania thought it was a white elephant party but doesn’t understand the game and gave the gift directly to Michelle pic.twitter.com/9GNWIU61Q6
— John Levenstein (@johnlevenstein) January 20, 2017
The two women previously made headlines in November when they sat down to tea together at the White House while their husbands met for the first time, just two days after Trump, 70, was declared the winner of the election.
Twitter users similarly seized upon that opportunity to speculate about how the conversation went down, especially considering that Melania was accused of plagiarizing FLOTUS’ 2008 speech at the Republican National Convention.
“Michelle Obama welcomes Melania Trump to White House: ‘Nice to meet you.’ Nice to meet you. ‘Come in.’ Come in. ‘Tea?’ Tea?” one person on Twitter joked of their meeting, mocking Melania’s plagiarism scandal.
