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Melania Touts Return To White House -- And Grudge Over 'Vogue' Snub

Melania Touts Return To White House -- And Grudge Over 'Vogue' Snub

Melania Trump teased a return to the White House in her first interview since Trump vacated the Oval Office for Joe Biden, echoing her husband’s repeated suggestions of a 2024 return to the political scene.

In a sit-down with Fox Nation’s Pete Hegseth, an interview that aired Sunday morning, the former first lady discussed her post-White House activities, said she believed the White House could be her home again, and lashed out at Vogue for putting Jill Biden on its cover.

“I like Washington, D.C. I know it operates completely different[ly] than any other city. To be the First Lady of the United States was my greatest honor, and I think we achieved a lot in the four years of the Trump administration,” she said, responding to Hegseth’s question about the possibility of her becoming the First Lady again.

“Never say never,” Trump added.

The former first lady said she enjoyed her time in the White House despite the wave of criticism she faced, especially in one instance in 2018 when she visited immigrant kids at a border detention center with a jacket emblazoned with the words “I really don't care, do u?”

Trump also discussed at length her NFT projects, which have been subject to controversy since their inception last year. Trump’s items can only be purchased with cryptocurrency, and nothing in her first lot of items, which was put up for sale earlier this year, met the $250,000 opening bid threshold, according to CNN.

In January, Trump held an auction for her “Head of State Collection, 2022,” with a minimum opening bid of $250,000 on the Solana blockchain. A portion of the proceeds, according to her website, would go towards securing “educational opportunities and scholarships” in the foster care system.

Things quickly went south when Vice, soon followed by other news outlets, reviewed the blockchain records and reported that the auction winner received funds for their winning bid from the auction’s creators themselves. “The winner of Melania Trump’s first NFT auction appears to be the former first lady herself,” according to Fortune.

Trump denied the allegations in a statement. “The nature of Blockchain protocol is entirely transparent. Accordingly, the public can view each transaction on the blockchain. The transaction was facilitated on behalf of a third-party buyer."

However, Trump declined to say who bought the NFT or why the NFT creator gave the auction winner crypto for the winning bid and seemingly got the funds back, per Vice. The former first lady has also refused to elaborate on what portion of her NFT proceeds has gone to charities, nor did she say which charities received the donations. “They need our resources, support, [and] empowerment to achieve that American dream,” Trump told Fox Nation, referring to purported contributions.

Trump also attacked Vogue for not featuring her on its cover during her husband’s tenure as president of the United States, a grudge she’s held onto tightly, despite exiting the White House over a year and a half ago.

“They’re biased and they have likes and dislikes, and it’s so obvious,” Trump said. “And I think American people, and everyone sees it.”

“I have much more important things to do—and I did in the White House—than being on the cover of Vogue,” she added, feigning indifference over the apparent snub.

However, in a tell-all book, Trump’s former senior adviser and BFF, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, detailed how Trump rejected a Vogue shoot shortly after her husband took office because the magazine couldn’t guarantee her a spot on the cover.

Vogue Doesn’t Have To Put Melania On Its Cover

Vogue Doesn’t Have To Put Melania On Its Cover

Michelle Obama made the cover of Vogue magazine three times. Hillary Clinton not only graced the cover in her first lady days but also, as the candidate running against Donald Trump in 2016, received the magazine’s first and (so far) only political endorsement.
Conspicuously missing is the current first lady, Melania Trump. She would seem a natural in that she’s a former model and a beauty. Her magnificent posture is an inspiration to us all.

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour recently confronted Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour with the indisputable fact that far more Democratic women appear on her prized cover than their Republican sisters. Wintour neither denied nor apologized for that imbalance or the omission of Trump.

Wintour said choices for the cover tend to be women who are “icons and inspiring to women from a global perspective.” Like most of the fashion business, she regards Trump world with disgust, adding, “I don’t think it’s a moment not to take a stand.”

Is Vogue magazine being unfair in keeping Trump’s third bride off its cover? “Is it fair?” is not the right question. Vogue is a privately owned publication and can include or exclude anyone it chooses from its cover or inside pages.

(For the record, Barbara and Laura Bush both had profiles inside. I happen to think that Barbara Bush would have made for a glorious cover.)

There is also the business calculation. Knowing Vogue‘s readership, one doesn’t imagine that an issue honoring someone so closely associated with Donald Trump on the cover would fly off the shelves. It would probably set off a blizzard of subscription cancellations.

I generally don’t have strong feelings for or against first ladies, but a magazine with a Trump on the cover for any reason other than affairs of state would be avoided. Lifestyle magazines, such as Vogue, are for relaxation and escape. Reminders that Trump is president are jarring, even after two years of him.

In olden days, Vogue’s cover was graced by a diverse group of northern Europeans — beauties with roots in countries ranging from England to Norway. Guess who had the most covers: Lauren Hutton with 26.

The magazine has moved in recent years to feature a more ethnically and racially diverse cover. That is a good thing. Another positive move was joining the healthy body initiative, which meant moving away from very young, horribly thin models.

But in its efforts to retain younger readers straying to Elle magazine, Vogue devalued its brand by putting the likes of Kim Kardashian, a professional vulgarian, on the cover. (I wouldn’t touch that issue, either.) Wintour’s stand that those chosen are “inspiring to women” sort of falls flat in the case of Kardashian, with her sexual exhibitionism, video tape included.

Melania Trump’s representative told Fox News that the first lady has “more important” things to do than fret about her absence from Vogue covers. Stephanie Grisham, recently chosen to replace Sarah Sanders as White House spokeswoman, went on to say, “This just further demonstrates how biased the fashion magazine industry is, and shows how insecure and small-minded Anna Wintour is.”

Of course, fashion publishing has the right to be as biased as it wants to be. And so does every other private-sector industry. Whether being so is bad for business is for the owners to decide.

Meanwhile, this blip of “bad” publicity from the White House is undeniably good publicity for Vogue.

So Wintour owes no one an explanation for keeping Trump off its covers. And if she wants to say she felt “honored” by Obama’s repeat presence or subtitle Clinton’s cover shot “The Extraordinary Hillary Clinton,” she can.

Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com.To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators webpage at www.creators.com.

IMAGE: Melania Trump takes the stage after her introduction by her husband, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, at the Republican National Convention, July 18, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young