Faux Melania Trump Says She's Going as the 'Ghost of Colonialism' for Halloween — Watch the Clip

Laura Benanti returned to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, to reprise her acclaimed Melania Trump impression

Laura Benanti returned to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, to reprise her acclaimed Melania Trump impression.

On the heels of the first lady’s trip to Africa and her first sit-down interview as FLOTUS, Colbert welcomed Benanti back to roast some of Mrs. Trump’s recent headlines.

First up was her wardrobe, specifically the white pith helmet the former model wore while visiting a safari in Nairobi National Park in Kenya.

Critics online slammed the first lady for the garb, the hat being most commonly associated with colonialists. But Benanti’s Mrs. Trump embraced that.

“I’m just going to keep it on through Halloween,” she said. “I’m going as, ‘The Ghost of Colonialism.’

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Melania Trump Africa, Nairobi, Kenya - 05 Oct 2018
Carolyn Kaster/AP/REX/Shutterstock

Mrs. Trump had also come under fire back in June for another item of clothing she wore: a green Zara jacket with the phrase “I Really Don’t Care. Do U?” written on the back.

She was photographed in the garb while visiting a detention center holding migrant children in McAllen, Texas — a choice that many called tone deaf and insensitive considering the Trump administration’s then-“zero tolerance” immigration policy of separating undocumented immigrant parents from their children at the border.

At the time, the first lady’s communications director said the jacket had no hidden meaning. But speaking with ABC News, Mrs. Trump said that she wore the coat to send a message to the media — while also reminding the media to stop focusing on what she wears.

“It was for the people and for the left-wing media to show them that I don’t care. You will not stop me to do what I feel is right. It was kind of a message,” Mrs. Trump admitted. “I would prefer that they would focus on what I do and my initiatives, than what I wear.”

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Mark Wilson/Getty

Asked to clarify those seemingly conflicting statements, Benanti’s faux Mrs. Trump broke it down.

“It is simple,” Benanti said. “The media needs to stop paying attention to my clothes and instead pay attention to my words. Unless my words are on my clothes, then pay attention to my words on my clothes and not a part of my clothes that are not my words. Are my words making sense or do you need me to write on some clothes for you.”

“It’s all part of my campaign called ‘Be Dressed,’ ” she added, parodying Be Best — Mrs. Trump’s anti-bulling initiative. “Be Best? What the hell does that even mean?”

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Also in her Colbert appearance, Benanti’s Mrs. Trump addressed President Trump’s rumored affairs (“I do not focus on who he focuses. Maybe he should go focuses himself”) and reinforced the first lady’s claim as “the most bullied person in the world.”

“I have been called the worst names imaginable,” Benanti recalled. “Cold, heartless, Eric’s stepmother.”

As for Mrs. Trump’s controversial views on the #MeToo era, and that victims of sexual assault “need to show the evidence,” Benanti’s first lady had a line for that.

“We can never believe without hard evidence,” the faux Mrs. Trump said. “Take me for example. I say I support women, but where is the evidence?”

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights (11:30 p.m. ET) on CBS.

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