Trump’s white hat raises eyebrows
NAIROBI, Kenya — A half a world away from the spectacle of Washington, Melania Trump still managed to create one of her own during a Kenyan safari Friday, riding out into the grassland wearing a crisp white pith helmet — a common symbol of European colonial rule.
It may not have been the most-glaring faux pas the hyper-scrutinized Trump has ever made. But to some — especially those who study African history — her fashion choice in Kenya was still a big error on the global stage: the sight of a first lady wearing something so closely associated with the exploitation of Africans.
Trump is in Africa on a fournation tour, with plans to visit Egypt this weekend after stops in Ghana, Malawi and Kenya.
The criticism of Trump was not universal. Several large Kenyan news sites focused not on the safari fashion but on Trump’s other attentiongrabbing activity of the day: feeding baby elephants, and a fall broken by a Secret Service agent. And Trump was warmly received by children on her travels Friday.
But Kim Yi Dionne, a political science professor who specializes in African politics at the University of California, Riverside, said what looked like a quibble over aesthetics was actually a more substantive criticism of the first lady’s understanding of Africa.
‘‘When people think of Africa, they have these standard narratives,’’ Dionne said. ‘‘Her attire is a signal of her understanding of what Africa is in 2018. It’s tired and it’s old and it’s inaccurate.’’
Trump is contributing to the Trump administration’s mixed signaling, participating in a ceremonial donation of more than 1 million textbooks in Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries, on Thursday, even as President Donald Trump has suggested deep cuts to foreign aid that could supply future donations.
On Friday, she looked happy as she visited a red-clay feeding pen for orphaned elephants at the Nairobi National Park. Still clad in the riding pants and tall brown boots she had worn on a safari, she administered the elephants formula in oversized baby bottles, patted the animals on their heads and inspected their floppy ears. A group of children who live at the orphanage and had been waiting for their American visitor broke into song and dance.
At one point, however, the first lady briefly lost her footing when a baby elephant startled her with a sudden move. A Secret Service agent helped Trump.
After the elephant feeding, Trump added the white pith helmet to her outfit.
‘‘It’s like showing up to a meeting of African-American cotton farmers in a Confederate uniform,’’ Matthew Carotenuto, a coordinator of African Studies at St. Lawrence University, wrote on Twitter. ‘‘Historical context matters.’’
Trump also visited a site where 105 tons of ivory was intentionally burned as part of an effort to discourage the trade. Ivory can only be extracted from elephants after they have been killed.
Trump bent down and scooped up some of the burned ivory, rubbing it lightly in her hands, finding herself once again at odds with her husband. His administration has moved to lift a ban on some elephant trophy imports.