What should this White House Christmas “Be Best” about?

There’s a standout bauble in one Christmas tree in the White House this year. And it is a uniquely Melania Trump tree, in a style the now-demolished East Wing could deliver. The colour theme for this tree could be seen as frigid chic. It cuts the air with icy shimmer in white and blue. The tree is overwhelmed by bogus butterflies, like milkweed attracting monarchs in early spring. But this is frosty December, so the butterflies are still, just like ice sculptures. Artificial butterflies are primarily manufactured in China, which is the global hub for nearly all decorative craft supplies and artificial flora (flowers, plants, insects, and related accessories). Although the White House has not made clear where the ornaments are made in, it’s not unreasonable to assume the fake fluttering forms are manufactured in China.

On this sole tree in what is known as the Red Room, which is part of the ‘Fostering the Future’ initiative, one ornament of the two stands out—the white baubles. On each is written a pair of alliterative words: “Be Best”. The baubles are nothing special. They are crowned with a standard, gold, ornamental cap. On each is written the two words now very much associated with FLOTUS, Melania Trump. “Be” in red and “Best” in blue, both in full caps. In sum, the national colours. The words themselves appear to be given the full artisanal, bespoke, fresh-from-the-whiteboard-marker experience. But it won’t win any penmanship award. It has none of the calligraphic flair of Meghan Markle’s eternal As Ever. Although purportedly her own words, they may not not have been written by the author herself, which is a pity since few, if any, have seen her handwriting.

“Be Best”, launched in 2018 by Melania Trump, was her signature First Lady initiative. It was framed around three pillars: children’s well-being, online safety, and opioid abuse awareness. It sings in a way that ensures the phrase ‘I really don’t care, do U?’ remains in the lexicon. Seven years later, the message is still as hollow as the baubles on which the slogan appears. It remains grammatically awkward and semantically insubstantive. Without clear programs and measurable outcomes, it is the Best it could be: a Christmas decor theme, framed as a patriotic, moral project, rooted in American values. Except for the concolor fir, which is from Michigan, nothing on the tree is possibly made in America. The ornaments used to stage that message are certainly manufactured in China, which seems to be at odds with her husband America First thrust. Mrs Trump’s tree(s) may be an annual deployment of seasonal off-season lepidopteran, but the ornamentation is heavy with political overtones.

The White House Christmas decor theme this year is the saccharine cliché, ‘Home is where the heart is’. If the White House is the setting, where lies the heart, really? The Oval Office, whose occupant is the exemplar of xenophobia and trade wars? The press briefing room podium, where denigration, combative stance, and made-in-China outfits reign? Or the West Wing Diet Coke vending machine, the true engine of the entire operation, without it, the heart stops? A White House Christmas. It’s almost too perfect a metaphor—fragile, decorative, and imported, all staged as patriotic pomp. Handwritten national identity kept artificially aglow in fairy lights from Yiwu (义乌), Zhejiang province (浙江省), China (中国), proving that even the festive spectacle is a trade deficit.

Screen shot: newyorkpost/YouTube