When it is a pair of very high, needle-thin heels worn by the first lady of the United States on her way to the site of a natural disaster. Or so became apparent Tuesday morning when President Trump and his wife left the White House to fly to Texas for a briefing on the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, and Mrs. Trump appeared on the lawn in black pegged trousers, black shades, an olive green bomber jacket — and her stilettos, now a trademark. Very much the same kind of shoes, in other words, she has been wearing since long before she joined her husband on the campaign trail. In response to the critical reaction, Stephanie Grisham, Mrs. Trump’s communications director, emailed the following statement: “It’s sad that we have an active and ongoing natural disaster in Texas, and people are worried about her shoes.”PhotoThat’s a fair point, to a certain extent. Certainly there was a backlash to the backlash, with Chelsea Handler, for example, being attacked in turn for her tweet attacking Mrs. Trump’s spikes.

Source: New York Times August 29, 2017 21:45 UTC