The Melania Trump Gardening meme originates from a 2017 series of photos showing the former First Lady working in the White House Kitchen Garden. Clad in a designer plaid shirt and pristine sneakers, her somewhat stiff and posed appearance immediately caught the internet's attention. Users began using the images to represent situations where someone is clearly out of their element or performing a task with the absolute minimum effort required to look busy. It has since become a staple for jokes about social distancing, 'main character energy' in mundane settings, and the contrast between high-fashion aesthetics and manual labor.