A Melania source explains the meaning behind the controversial 'I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?' jacket she wore on a trip to visit immigrant children

Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla

U.S. first lady Melania Trump (C) climbs back into her motorcade after traveling to Texas to visit facilities that house and care for children taken from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border June 21, 2018 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

• A source close to Melania Trump told The New York Times her "I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?" jacket was actually directed at critics of her decision to visit immigrant children.
• The first lady was heavily criticized in June for wearing the jacket, which many believed to be insensitive to the immigrant children who were separated from their parents under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy.
• The first lady's spokeswoman, however, told The Times that the jacket had no underlying message.

The infamous jacket that first lady Melania Trump wore when she flew to Texas during the Trump administration's family separation crisis had an entirely different meaning than most people believed, a source close to the first lady told The New York Times.

The first lady attracted heavy criticism for wearing the jacket that read, "I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?" during part of her trip.

Many believed Trump's jacket was insensitive to the immigrant children she was visiting, who had been forcibly separated from their parents by the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy. But the source told The Times that the message was actually directed at people who criticized her decision to visit the children.

The jacket lit up social media, was mocked by late-night comedians, and even parodied by retailers who sold versions with alternate messages such as, "I really care, don't u?"

President Donald Trump, on the other hand, said the message on her jacket had been directed at "the Fake News Media."

"Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares!" he tweeted.

The first lady's spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, has said repeatedly that the jacket wasn't meant to send a message at all.

"No one tells the first lady what to do," Grisham told The Times. "Our office has nothing to do with what clothing choices she makes and this situation was no different."