At Monday's Met Gala held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore a Brother Vellies dress that read 'Tax The Rich' as a symbol of protest to call for more taxes to be levied on the wealthy. 

 

On social media, Ocasio-Cortez shared a photograph wearing her dress captioned: "The medium is the message." She also emphasized that this is the time to raise taxes on the wealthiest.

 

"Now is the time for child care, health care and climate action for all", she added.

In addition to the attention the representative's message garnered, criticism rose for her participation in the Met Gala itself, due to the high price of the ticket that contradicted the message of her dress. In going to the event and paying the price, she was supporting the very people she was calling out, many argued.

 

According to Forbes magazine, an individual ticket to attend the event costs $35,000, while the price to sit at one of the tables at the gala starts at $200,000.

 

"And before the haters go crazy, New York's elected officials are routinely invited to the Met because of our responsibilities to oversee and support the city's cultural institutions," she clarified on Twitter.

 

Despite Ocasio-Cortez's clarifications, the image of her dress has generated controversy among many across the web and some Republicans also joined in on the criticism.

 

"She attends the Met Gala (how much does a ticket cost?) wearing a dress that has to cost a fortune... But she has a message," wrote Sean Spicer, one of many former White House press secretaries for the previous administration.

 

"What makes Alexandria a bigger fraud: the 'tax the rich' dress while hanging out with an elite group of the wealthy left or the lack of facemasks after spending the last 18 months as one of the most authoritarian 'Karens' in the country?" tweeted Donald Trump Jr, son of former President Donald Trump.

 

Ocasio-Cortez explained on the red carpet that she wanted to move one of her agenda items, "a fair tax code," to the highest echelons of society:

 

"I think it's time to bring all classes into the conversation," she told the Met Gala cameras.

 

Melania's look was inappropriate for the occasion and opened the debate on whether it was intentional, a mere coincidence or directed at someone else.  

 

She was harshly criticized on social media, as Internet users related her choice of clothing to the immigration controversy. At the time, President Trump posted a tweet clarifying the issue.

 

"I really don't care, do you?" written on the back of Melania's jacket refers to fake news. Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she really doesn't care about them," the former president wrote.