A photo tweeted by the White House on First Lady Melania Trump's birthday has raised many an eyebrow on social media. The tweet that has generated more than 8,000 comments, simply says "Happy Birthday, @FLOTUS!" and is accompanied by a photo of Mrs. Trump sitting alone on the far end of a couch and staring into the distance, surrounded by an army of photographers and reporters in the Oval Office. Mrs. Trump turned 49 on Friday. The photo has spawned numerous memes but also questions from some Twitter users about why the White House chose to share a photo in which the first lady looks "all alone" on her birthday. "Where are her child and husband?" one tweet said in response to the photo. "I don’t understand why the White House would post such a sad, lonely photo of Melania for her birthday," another Twitter user said. "Regardless what I think of her and her family, this is just weird." Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics The photo appears to have been taken during Donald's Trump meeting with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš in Washington last month. In the picture, members of the media appear to be focusing on Trump and the Czech PM and not on the first lady. A bilateral meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis held in March 2019. U.S. Embassy in the Czech Republic Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders shared a smiling photo of the first lady, wishing her a happy birthday and calling her "a great representative for our country." Mrs. Trump has been spearheading a campaign against online bullying in her time as the first lady. She got to spend her birthday having a private dinner in the White House with her husband and Japan's first couple, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie, who are currently on a visit to the United States. Last year saw no shortage of controversy for Mrs. Trump. In June, she caused a commotion when she wore a jacket with the phrase "I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?" scrawled across the back in white graffiti-styled text on her way to visit migrant children housed in a Texas shelter. In an interview in October, Mrs. Trump claimed she was the "most bullied person in the world." She also said her husband’s alleged affairs were not her "concern and focus." "I'm a mother and a first lady, and I have much more important things to think about and to do," she said at the time. In December, the first lady said the most difficult part of her time in the White House has been watching "opportunists" use her family's name to advance their careers.<doc-sep>A day before Melania Trump's 49th birthday, the president sent out a mass email to supporters asking for signatures for her birthday card First Lady Melania Trump is celebrating her 49th birthday. On Friday, the White House honored the first lady with a tribute on Twitter. “Happy Birthday, @FLOTUS!” the post was captioned along with an image of Mrs. Trump sitting alone on a sofa during a bilateral meeting between Donald Trump and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis in the Oval Office. Get push notifications with news, features and more. The photo, which was taken in early March, also shows nearly 20 photographers circling the couch to take pictures of the president and the Czech prime minister. But the White House’s choice of photo had many celebrating for another reason. The photo of Mrs. Trump quickly turned into a viral meme with many Photoshopping Vladimir Putin next to the first lady and others doctoring the image with other well-known faces, including Kellyanne Conway. The White House did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. Trump has yet to post a birthday tribute to his wife on social media. However, the day before, the president sent out a mass email to supporters asking for one million signatures for his wife’s birthday card. (He employed this same technique last year.) “I need your help,” read the campaign email on Trump’s behalf. “Our FANTASTIC First Lady Melania’s birthday is right around the corner, and I want to do something special for her because she is so special to me.” It continued: “We all know that Melania is an INCREDIBLE wife, mother, and First Lady. Help me show her how much the American people love her!” But the gesture won’t erase his history of birthday blunders. US-POLITICS-TRUMP Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump | Credit: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images Last year, the president said he didn’t get Mrs. Trump a gift because he was too busy. The president made the comment when he called in to Fox & Friends to give the first lady a shout out on her birthday. “I picked a very, very special day because it’s Melania’s birthday,” Trump said at the time. “So I said, ‘Let’s do it on Melania’s birthday.’ So happy birthday to Melania.” Asked what he got his wife for her special day, Trump grew defensive, saying, “Well, I better not get into that because I may get in trouble” before admitting, “Maybe I didn’t get her so much.” “I tell you what, she has done — I got her a beautiful card. You know, I’m very busy to be running out looking for presents, okay!” he continued. “But I got her a beautiful card and some beautiful flowers.” Later in the call, Trump admitted for the first time that his personal attorney Michael Cohen represented him in making a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in the final days before the 2016 election. Daniels has said the deal was sealed to keep her quiet about an affair she claims she had with Trump in 2006. (Trump has denied the affair.) President Donald J. Trump And The First Lady Arrive In The UK Melania and Donald Trump | Credit: Leon Neal/Getty “I’m a mother and a first lady, and I have much more important things to think about and to do,” she told ABC News’ chief national affairs correspondent Tom Llamas. Later in the interview, Mrs. Trump confirmed that she loved her husband. (“Yes, we are fine,” she said.) If Trump’s discussion of the payment to Daniels wasn’t romantic enough, he messed up a happy birthday tweet in 2017. Trump posted a photo of himself and the first lady on the day of his inauguration, with an image of the United States flag superimposed on it. Twitter users quickly noted that the flag didn’t have enough stars on it. RELATED VIDEO: Nancy Pelosi Literally Clapped Back at Trump’s State of the Union- and the Internet Is Obsessed These romantic fumbles aside, the first couple’s relationship has faced scrutiny even before Trump’s administration began. Despite the implications of the Mueller report, the many claims against Trump of sexual harassment and extra-marital affairs (all of which he has denied), and Mrs. Trump’s reported reluctance to hold her husband’s hand in public, the Trumps continue to champion each other. In last year’s email campaign for Mrs. Trump’s birthday, the president wrote: “Melania is my rock and foundation, and I wouldn’t be the man I am today without her by my side.” He also called her “the cornerstone of our family, and an incredible mother to our son, Barron.”<doc-sep>Uh…happy birthday, Melania Trump? The White House tweeted an odd photo of the First Lady, and fans had no problem meme-ifying it with pictures of Sad Keanu, Vladimir Putin and more. “Happy Birthday, @FLOTUS,” the official @WhiteHouse account tweeted on April 26 in celebration of Melania Trump’s 49th birthday. While the message was fine, the photo the account included was strange. The picture, taken in early March when President Donald Trump, 72, was meeting Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis in the Oval Office, shows Melania sitting alone on a couch while a swarm of photographers and reporters….are completely ignoring her. (Click here to see the pic). Out of all the pictures of Melania Trump available, why did the @WhiteHouse account use that one? It seemed like they were ASKING for it to be mocked and meme’d — and it certainly was! “What a lovely image of Melania with her faithful companion, an empty couch cushion,” one user tweeted. “This is the photo that the White House put out to honor her? I thought this was from @TheOnion or something when I saw it,” another added. Many used the empty cushions as an opportunity to photoshop in Russian president Vladimir Putin, a very bloated Donald Trump, the Trump Baby Blimp, and even “Sad Keanu.” Others made a Seinfeld reference to the one time Kellyanne Conway knelt on the couch while wearing her shoes. “Well, the right side has been tarnished.” The question now is – what did Donald Trump get for Melania’s birthday? In 2018, the President of the United States celebrated his wife’s birthday by spending some time with his loved ones – his fawning fans over at Fox & Friends. “It’s Melania’s birthday, so I said let’s [do the interview] on Melania’s birthday. So ‘Happy Birthday’ to Melania,” he said, before revealing that he was too “busy” to actually get her a gift. “I got her a beautiful card. You know I’m very busy, to be running out looking for presents. But I got her a beautiful card and some beautiful flowers.” A card and flowers are not going to cut it this year after reports said Donald and Melania had an argument while dining at Mar-a-lago on March 30. The First Lady “was upset” and had words with her husband “over something.” While it’s unclear what the two might have been arguing about, if they DID have such a public spat, then Donald better have gone all outs for Melania’s birthday.<doc-sep>Melania Trump absolutely shined on her birthday Friday when she stepped out in a white lace dress to greet Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Mrs. Akie Abe to the White House. The first lady looked just as gorgeous as ever in the short-sleeve lace number that hit right at her knees as she joined President Donald Trump in welcoming the Japan leaders for dinner. (RELATED: Tiffany Trump Stuns In Sleeveless Black Dress At WH Christmas Party) She completed the gorgeous look with loose hair and and red metallic high heels. To say she looked perfect on her day would be an understatement. (RELATED: Ivanka Turns Heads In Gorgeous Yellow Plaid Skirt Suit) Earlier in the day, President Trump revealed that he asked Melania how she felt about hosting the leaders on her birthday, per a White House pool report. (RELATED: Ivanka Turns Heads In Yellow And Black Floral Dress During Munich Trip) She replied, “I can’t think of anybody I’d rather have.” FLOTUS’ incredible fashion sense has been documented numerous times. Most recently, she got everyone’s attention when she stepped out for church services on Easter Sunday in a stunning sleeveless floral dress that she paired with lavender-colored high heels. Check out some of her other unforgettable looks here. Happy Birthday, Melania!<doc-sep>
On Friday, First Lady Melania Trump turned 49 years old, and her birthday celebration somehow turned into an official dinner with the Japanese prime minister, Shinzō Abe and his wife, Akie, at the White House. "We're celebrating our First Lady's birthday," Donald Trump told reporters Friday, per The White House website. "It's her birthday. So I said to Melania, 'Would you like to have Mr. and Mrs. Prime Minister and Mrs. Abe join us for your birthday?'" he told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon. "And she said, 'I can't think of anybody I’d rather have.'" MANDEL NGAN Getty Images Last year, the First Lady spent her birthday at home away from the spotlight, but the president made special mention of her day during a Fox & Friends interview. He also mentioned that he didn't necessarily go out of his way to do anything special for wife on her 48th birthday. When asked what he got the First Lady, he replied, "Well, I'd rather not get into that 'cause I may get in trouble. Maybe I didn’t get her so much." This year, he appeared to at least get her a dinner with another couple and this photo that the White House tweeted out. Interesting choice. Regardless, FLOTUS seemed happy with the choice of dinner guests. Though there has been plenty of speculation about the state of the Trumps' marriage, the First Lady has attempted in the past to put that to rest. In an interview with ABC News last October, she commented on the president's rumored affairs with Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. "It is not a concern and focus of mine. I am a mother and a First Lady. I have much more important things to think about and to do. I know people like to speculate and media likes to speculate about our marriage." Hilary Weaver Hilary Weaver is a freelance writer based in New York who writes about politics, queer issues, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, and every woman the Queen has ever made a dame.