Melania Trump Trades Costume For Couture To Host Halloween At The White House After Jill Biden’s Panda Outfit

Melania Trump celebrated the holidays in style on Thursday while hosting Halloween at the White House with President Donald Trump.

The First Lady, 55, looked stunning in a brown trench coat dress that was perfectly suited for the fall season.

To add some Halloween flair to the ensemble, the coat featured an orange leather stripe that was hard to miss.

The former model’s chic look was a far cry from the campy panda bear costume that Jill Biden wore to last year’s Halloween celebration.

The previous year, Biden dressed as the ‘First Cat’ by donning cat ears and furry sleeves on her dress.

To further personalize this year’s White House Halloween, President Trump had a McDonald’s pop-up drive-thru for guests to take orders from.

Melania and President Trump teamed up with The International Fresh Produce Association to host Halloween this year.

As part of the festivities, IFPA is providing 7,500 apples from Washington and New York states to participants, along with thousands of colorful mums and pumpkins.

After the event, IFPA will donate all the Frey Farms pumpkins to the DC Central Kitchen.

‘Halloween at the White House is a wonderful opportunity to share the magic of fresh, nutritious produce and florals with families from across the nation,’ said IFPA CEO Cathy Burns.

‘Whether it’s a crunchy apple, festive pumpkins or bright florals in seasonal colors, fresh products have a special way of connecting people to the moment and to one another.’

Meanwhile, Frey Farms CEO Sarah Frey said her company was ‘proud to continue working with the White House to celebrate America’s harvest and the farmers who make it possible.’

She continued, ‘Our pumpkins represent the strength of American agriculture and the importance of healthy, homegrown food. We are honored to support this tradition and to contribute to local food assistance through DC Central Kitchen.’

This year’s Halloween celebration comes as millions of Americans are about to lose access to food benefits next month amid the government shutdown.

In a notice posted to the US Department of Agriculture’s website on Sunday, the government blamed Democrats for not voting to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

‘Bottom line, the well has run dry,’ read the announcement. ‘At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 1. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.

‘They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.’

However, the Trump administration reportedly declined to tap into approximately $5billion in contingency funds to cover SNAP costs amidst the second longest shutdown in US history.

In a previous statement to Daily Mail, a rep for the White House doubled down on blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.

‘The Democrats shut down the government and SNAP benefits. We’re not going to allow them to steal the joy of Halloween for children too,’ shared Davis Ingle, WH Spokesman.

‘President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are excited to host Halloween at the White House and carry on this special tradition for American families and guests to enjoy.’

It comes as some conservative commentators have outright called for food benefits like SNAP to be permanently axed.

The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh posted on social media, ‘EBT should just be abolished outright. 95 percent of the people on the program could easily feed themselves. They just don’t feel like making the effort.’

He added, ‘The other 5 percent can rely on charities, soup kitchens, food drives, churches, etc. The program is a disaster. Get rid of it.’

Another SNAP critic added, ‘Why the hell are we giving food stamps to 40 million people? Does anyone work anymore?’

However, many others have supported benefits like SNAP and argued that they should remain in place.

‘My faith teaches me that food is lifegiving and meant to be shared. From the miracle of fishes and loaves to the Last Supper, we are called to feed and care for each other,’ posted Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.

‘The Trump administration prohibiting SNAP benefits is wrong. We should be fighting hunger, not causing it,’ he added.