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The rumor is "a ridiculous non-story," per the East Wing
The bizarre rumor grew out of a Twitter post
(CNN) —
No, Melania Trump doesn’t have a body double – despite what you may have seen on the internet.
The bizarre rumor grew out of a Twitter post from a California man, who, according to his bio, sells hemp syrup. The tweet implied the first lady standing beside President Donald Trump last week wasn’t actually the first lady, but an imposter. He compared an older image of the first lady to a tight shot of her – as though this provided evidence that there are two different Trumps.
The East Wing dismissed the obvious falsehood, chastising those pursuing it.
“Once again, we find ourselves consumed with a ridiculous non-story when we could be talking about the work the first lady is doing on behalf of children, including the opioid crisis that is gripping our nation,” East Wing communications director Stephanie Grisham told CNN.
Nonetheless, the social media engine roared, conspiracy theorists latched on, pointing to photographs of the first lady trailed by a Secret Service agent who has facial similarities, and the assumption grew that a body double exists.
That, however, is just a coincidence.
The US Secret Service did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment. But Jonathan Wackrow, a CNN contributor and former Secret Service agent who has previously served on the first family detail, said definitively: “The United States Secret Service doesn’t use body doubles.”
“Mrs. Trump’s lead agent is a woman … and she happens to look a little like her, but physically, she is much shorter,” he said.
Further throwing cold water on the conspiracy theory, Wackrow said Trump’s lead agent just happens to be a woman – it could have just as easily been a male agent assigned. The lead agent has been on Trump’s protection team since the President took office.
Photos: First lady Melania Trump
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First lady Melania Trump accompanies her husband, US President Donald Trump, for a visit to the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday, June 6. It was the first time the first lady was seen in public since undergoing benign kidney surgery in May.
Photos: First lady Melania Trump
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Melania Trump speaks to the spouses of US governors at a White House luncheon in February. Among the topics she touched on were cyberbullying and the opioid epidemic. She also acknowledged the students around the country who have been fighting the gun lobby since the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Photos: First lady Melania Trump
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Trump arrives for her husband's State of the Union address in January.
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Trump walks through Christmas decorations at the White House.
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Trump addresses other spouses of world leaders at a United Nations luncheon in September.
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Trump, seated fourth from left, plays with children during a July visit to the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw, Poland. She was joined by Polish first lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda, who is in the pink jacket. The Trumps were visiting Poland ahead of a G20 summit in Germany.
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Melania Trump arrives at the Vatican, where she and her husband met Pope Francis in May 2017. With Vatican protocol in mind, she wore a black veil and a long-sleeved black dress draped down to her calf.
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The first lady visits a pediatric hospital in Vatican City.
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Trump visits the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, while in Jerusalem in May 2017.
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Photos: First lady Melania Trump
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The first lady high-fives a child during a visit to the American International School in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
