Melania Trump compared to 'Marie Antoinette' after unveiling White House tennis court

First Lady Melana Trump is facing backlash on social media after confirming the completion of the renovation of the White House tennis pavilion in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

A press release announcing the completed renovation works reads in part:

"First Lady Melania Trump is pleased to announce the completion of the new White House tennis pavilion. The project included the refurbishment of the White House Tennis Court and Grandchildren’s Garden along with construction of the new building."

Melania Trump appears to pull her hand away from husband Donald in this video:

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/NV6cPBJr-Q0L14jDU.mp4||NV6cPBJr]]

A later quote attributed to Melania herself reads, "I am pleased to announce the completion of the Tennis Pavilion on the White House grounds. Thank you to all of the talented craftsmen who made this project possible and to the generous supporters of the White House,” continuing, "It is my hope that this private space will function as both a place of leisure and gathering for future First Families.”

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ElizLanders/status/1335949625149313024]]"

Although the announcement and accompanying press release looked to be fairly innocuous at first glance, some social media took issue with the news of the project in the wider context of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

One particularly affronted Twitter user wrote, "And in Hell, Marie Antoinette breathes a sigh of relief. She's off the hook now. (Note: During France's Reign of Terror 40,000 people died. At our current death rate from COVID, more Americans than that die every two weeks. But...tennis anyone?)"

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/djrothkopf/status/1335999121971433476]]

"Oh Good, those people in their ICU beds will feel so much better knowing that melania has finished her tennis pavilion." Another commenter added.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1335948376601485312]]

"We are a week away from passing 300,000 Americans killed by COVID and Melania Antoinette over here updated the tennis court as her act of civic service this year." A third Twitter user wrote.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/tommatzzie/status/1335955874700013568]]

"With 280,000 Americans dead from COVID-19, I really don't care about Melania's tennis courts, do you?" Another commenter added.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/mmpadellan/status/1335968491074154497]]

Meanwhile, in a recent interview Matthew McConaughey slammed the hypocrisy of Hollywood's "illiberal left" for mocking Donald Trump supporters.

The actor made the comments while appearing on Russell Brand's podcast Under the Skin, where he slammed those condemning Trump voters for refusing to accept the result of the 2020 election when many people found themselves in a similar position when Hilary Clinton lost in 2016.

You can read more about McConaughey's comments here.