--- title: Melania Trump Stands By White House Christmas Decorations description: First Lady Melania Trump stood by her White House Christmas decorations during a town hall on the opioid epidemic at Liberty University. canonical: https://time.com/5465753/melania-trump-on-white-house-christmas-decorations/ author: Rachel E. Greenspan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-28T18:14:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:12.434Z og:title: Melania Trump Defends Her White House Christmas Decorations og:description: 'I think they look fantastic,' she said og:url: https://time.com/5465753/melania-trump-on-white-house-christmas-decorations/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaff2cc18932e4c4d/6989401f4ee26241bf31374a/melania-trump-liberty-university-christmas-decorations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3878 og:image:height: 2181 og:image:alt: ATTACHMENT DETAILS melania-trump-liberty-university-christmas-decorations.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Melania Trump Defends Her White House Christmas Decorations twitter:description: 'I think they look fantastic,' she said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaff2cc18932e4c4d/6989401f4ee26241bf31374a/melania-trump-liberty-university-christmas-decorations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Melania Trump Stands By Her White House Christmas Decorations > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Nov 28, 2018 6:14 PM UTC  First Lady Melania Trump smiles during a town hall on opioid addiction at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., on Nov. 28, 2018. First Lady Melania Trump smiles during a town hall on opioid addiction at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., on Nov. 28, 2018. Steve Helber—AP/REX/Shutterstock by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Nov 28, 2018 6:14 PM UTC Despite [all the internet buzz and criticism](http://time.com/5463388/melania-trump-christmas-decorations-trees-memes/), First Lady Melania Trump says she stands by her [White House Christmas decorations](http://time.com/5454985/white-house-christmas-2018/). In an interview at Liberty University Wednesday as part of a town hall on the opioid crisis, Trump was asked what she has to say about the media’s coverage of her Christmas decorations. “We are in the 21st century and everybody has a different taste,” Trump said. With a smile, she added: “I think they look fantastic.” The Liberty University audience applauded for the First Lady’s comment before she proceeded by inviting everyone to the White House to see the decorations, which feature numerous Christmas trees including rows of trees in a deep red shade that many joked resembled blood.  More than 40 red topiary trees line the East colonnade as part of the holiday decorations at the White House. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images “In real life they look even more beautiful, and you are all very welcome to visit the White House — the ‘people’s house,'” she said. The First Lady raised similar critiques with her [2017 decorations](http://time.com/5039367/melania-trump-white-house-christmas-decorations-meme/). Strongly resembling this year’s red tree motif, last year’s featured an array of white trees.  The White House's 2017 Christmas decorations are seen on Nov. 27, 2017. SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images In the interview with Eric Bolling, a Fox News contributor who lost his son to a drug overdose, Trump also discussed her Be Best campaign, which strives to help at-risk youth. 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