She’s always had beauty and brains, but what separates Melania Trump’s second term as first lady from her first is that now she appears battle-ready. There have been subtle telltale shifts in Mrs. Trump’s alacrity to embrace her position with a bit more confidence and lean into her power as the nation’s first lady. Even her clothing choices suggest a swing from the elegant model to a don’t-mess-with-me businesswoman. It’s possible that being debanked, having her clothes rifled through by federal authorities, and myriad lies being circulated about her have influenced the 55-year-old.
Mark Guiducci, who now sits near the top of the rag-mag world as Vanity Fair’s new editor, has suggested – gasp – that Melania Trump should grace the cover of the famed New York publication. Just floating this idea has caused the VF crew to threaten mutiny. In an exclusive on August 24, Semafor let the cat out of the bag, suggesting “Guiducci’s mandate to rethink the publication’s relationship with power and celebrity is likely to mean a greater openmindedness to seeking access to figures likely to repel magazine’s liberal readers. He’s told people he’s potentially interested in putting Melania Trump on the cover.” The reaction – though predictable – has set the struggling magazine on rocky shores.
As only the New York Post could put it, the mere hint of such a notion has the “disgruntled woke staff threatening to ‘walk out the mf-ing door’ if it goes ahead.” Yet another anonymous staffer lamented, “We are not going to normalize this despot and his wife; we’re just not going to do it. We’re going to stand for what’s right.”
However, what is right is in the eye of the beholder. Was it right to eschew Melania Trump during her first term as first lady for a cover photo when Michele Obama was featured on a dozen magazine covers? That Mrs. Trump was shunned by the industry in which she made her fortune was evident the first time around. Now that she likely no longer cares, someone in the rag hierarchy is considering what Melania could do for them. And the answer is a lot.
The snubbing of Mrs. Trump by the fashion industry has long been attributed to Vogue Editor Anna Wintour, who is a longtime pal of Hillary Clinton. In an old CNN interview, Wintour claimed that the placement of first ladies on magazine covers stems from those who they “feel are icons and inspiring to women from a global perspective.” This appears to be far-fetched reasoning, as Mrs. Trump certainly comes to the table with fans who are inspired by her wit and courage as a first lady who has been persecuted and disparaged through no fault of her own.
At 37, perhaps Mr. Guiducci has stumbled into a bee’s nest that will turn into a honey pot. Putting Melania Trump on the cover of Vanity Fair may open doors and turn around the misfortune that has overtaken it. A shell of its former self, it would be paradoxically fascinating if the legendary rag mag would experience a commercial upturn by placing America’s first lady where she has always belonged – on the cover of a magazine.