Melania Trump has a book out. Apparently, her husband, the Republican presidential hopeful, Donald Trump, hasn’t read it. As one of the more elusive characters in US politics who has willingly (well…) been in a romantic relationship with Donald Trump since 1998, her memoir has piqued some interest. Especially since it’s published on 8 October, one month before the US election.

However, press for the memoir, titled Melania, has been minimal. Beyond a handful of promotional quotes being distributed to Fox News and a few videos on social media saying, ‘May your experience reading my book be as enjoyable as the writing process was for me’, for a while we weren’t sure what the book is about. Or whether it will reveal anything at all about Trump or their relationship.

That was until Wednesday 18 September when Melania, and in turn her memoir, made headlines around the world for defending her former nude modelling days via a somewhat idiosyncratic social media post.

The former first lady shared a video montage of nude figures from classical paintings and sculptures, including Lady Godiva by John Collier, The Bathers by Paul Cezanne and the David sculpture by Michelangelo, on X with the caption: ‘Why do I stand proudly behind my nude modelling work? The more pressing question is: Why has the media chosen to scrutinize my celebration of the human form in a fashion shoot?’

Later asking, ‘Are we no longer able to appreciate the beauty of the human body? Throughout history, master artists have revered the human shape, evoking profound emotions and admiration. We should honour our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of self-expression.’

According to CNN, a spokesperson for the former first lady did not immediately respond to questions about ‘what media scrutiny Melania Trump was referring to’ or whether the photographs had received recent attention.

Nevertheless, her post got a lot of chins wagging – and more than seven million views. It’s also, unsurprisingly, left a lot of people wondering what exactly her former nude modelling days entailed.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane. Melania Knauss, as she was formerly known, worked as a model from the age of 16, travelling from her hometown in Slovenia to Paris and Milan for work. She later met a businessman who sponsored her immigration to the US and a few years later was introduced to real estate developer, Donald Trump. The pair got married in 2005 and had their son, Barron, in 2006.

In 1995, when she was 25 years old, Melania appeared nude in a French adult magazine and in 2000 she modelled naked on Trump’s private jet for British GQ. While neither shoot showed full-frontal nudity, the pictures reemerged during Trump’s first presidential campaign in 2016. It is thought that this is what she is referring to in the X post.

At the time, the New York Post published several of Melania’s nude photos and the headline on its cover was, ‘The Ogle Office’. Trump’s attempt to stand up for his wife was by saying the pictures were taken before they knew each other and that ‘pictures like this are very fashionable and common’.

Digging up old nude pictures in an attempt to discredit her as a potential first lady is, of course, flagrant misogyny. It clearly irked Melania at the time and is likely something that she addresses in her book. But her decision to restart the debate now seems intentional – especially given what a low profile she has kept throughout Trump’s campaign so far.

Aside from releasing a statement when someone attempted to assassinate her husband in July, thanking Secret Service agents and law enforcement officials for protecting the former president and saying that she was thinking of her ‘fellow Americans’ after the shooting, she has barely been seen or heard at all.

However, this month, Melania has released a series of politically pointed social media videos, thought to be excerpts from her memoir, to coincide with its promotion.

One of the other videos reads, ‘The 2020 election results changed our lives forever. It impacted our quality of life, cost of food, gasoline, safety, and even the geopolitical landscape. America is more divided today than ever before. It has become increasingly apparent that there are significant challenges to free speech as demonstrated by the efforts to silence my husband.’

Although Melania’s video about the alleged media scrutiny of her former modelling career has by far garnered the most attention

American political strategist Adam Parkhomenko tweeted, ‘Between Trump’s silly crypto scam and Melania talking about her nude modelling, you really have to appreciate how laser focused they are on the campaign 48 days out.’

Meanwhile author Keith Boykin posted, ‘Nobody on the left cares that Melania Trump did nude modelling. We do care that Republicans want to police our bedrooms, our doctors and our books, and ban pornography. We know that if a Black First Lady posed nude, Republicans would lose it. It’s the hypocrisy, not the nudity.’

After a quick glance on the internet, most headlines are about Melania’s line of defence, rather than any outrage towards her nude modelling. The Independent writes, ‘Melania Trump defends nude modelling career in latest video promoting new memoir’; The Telegraph writes, ‘Melania Trump compares her nude modelling to Renaissance art’; And CNN writes, ‘Melania Trump defends her nude modelling as she promotes book.’ The consensus is clear – and the crux of the story is the video itself.

As for Trump, during a rally in New York on Wednesday evening he said, ‘People love our First Lady. Go out and get a book. She just wrote a book. I hope she said good things about… I don’t know. I didn’t… so busy.’ Before adding, ‘If she says bad things about me, I’ll call you all up and I’ll say, don’t buy it.’

If the X video was indeed a tactic to get people talking about her memoir, it worked. As for whether it will translate into sales figures or prompt her own husband to have a skim through, that’s another question. Luckily, Trump’s team have a track record of knowing how to fudge the numbers.