[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-post-title” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Black Han Sans|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”46px” header_letter_spacing=”4px” custom_margin=”25px||5px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-name” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Black Han Sans|||on|||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_4_font=”|||on|||||” header_4_text_align=”center” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Words by Nikki Peach [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/09\/GettyImages-2162609843.jpg” title_text=”2024 Republican National Convention: Day 4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”107px” custom_padding=”||0px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Melania Trump has a book out. Apparently, her husband, the Republican presidential hopeful, Donald Trump, hasn\u2019t read it. As one of the more elusive characters in US politics who has willingly (well\u2026) been in a romantic relationship with Donald Trump since 1998, her memoir has piqued some interest. Especially since it\u2019s published on 8 October, one month before the US election.<\/p>\n 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, \u2018May your experience reading my book be as enjoyable as the writing process was for me\u2019, for a while we weren\u2019t sure what the book is about. Or whether it will reveal anything at all about Trump or their relationship.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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: \u2018Why 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?\u2019<\/p>\n Later asking, \u2018Are 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.\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n According to CNN, a spokesperson for the former first lady did not immediately respond to questions about \u2018what media scrutiny Melania Trump was referring to\u2019 or whether the photographs had received recent attention.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, her post got a lot of chins wagging \u2013 and more than seven million views. It\u2019s also, unsurprisingly, left a lot of people wondering what exactly her former nude modelling days entailed.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n In 1995, when she was 25 years old, Melania appeared nude in a French adult magazine and in 2000 she modelled naked on Trump\u2019s private jet for British GQ. While neither shoot showed full-frontal nudity, the pictures reemerged during Trump\u2019s first presidential campaign in 2016. It is thought that this is what she is referring to in the X post.<\/p>\n At the time, the New York Post published several of Melania\u2019s nude photos and the headline on its cover was, \u2018The Ogle Office\u2019. Trump\u2019s attempt to stand up for his wife was by saying the pictures were taken before they knew each other and that \u2018pictures like this are very fashionable and common\u2019.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 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 \u2013 especially given what a low profile she has kept throughout Trump\u2019s campaign so far.<\/p>\n 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 \u2018fellow Americans\u2019 after the shooting, she has barely been seen or heard at all.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n One of the other videos reads, \u2018The 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.\u2019<\/p>\n Although Melania\u2019s video about the alleged media scrutiny of her former modelling career has by far garnered the most attention<\/p>\n American political strategist Adam Parkhomenko tweeted, \u2018Between Trump\u2019s 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.\u2019<\/p>\n Meanwhile author Keith Boykin posted, \u2018Nobody 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\u2019s the hypocrisy, not the nudity.\u2019<\/p>\n After a quick glance on the internet, most headlines are about Melania\u2019s line of defence, rather than any outrage towards her nude modelling. The Independent writes, \u2018Melania Trump defends nude modelling career in latest video promoting new memoir\u2019; The Telegraph writes, \u2018Melania Trump compares her nude modelling to Renaissance art\u2019; And CNN writes, \u2018Melania Trump defends her nude modelling as she promotes book.\u2019 The consensus is clear \u2013 and the crux of the story is the video itself.<\/p>\n As for Trump, during a rally in New York on Wednesday evening he said, \u2018People love our First Lady. Go out and get a book. She just wrote a book. I hope she said good things about\u2026 I don\u2019t know. I didn\u2019t\u2026 so busy.\u2019 Before adding, \u2018If she says bad things about me, I\u2019ll call you all up and I\u2019ll say, don\u2019t buy it.\u2019<\/p>\n 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\u2019s another question. Luckily, Trump\u2019s team have a track record of knowing how to fudge the numbers.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-texts” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n IMAGE: GETTY<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nevertheless, her post got a lot of chins wagging \u2013 and more than seven million views<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4118,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"kschwarz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4117"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4123,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions\/4123"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/strong><\/p>\n‘While neither shoot showed full-frontal nudity, the pictures reemerged during Trump\u2019s first presidential campaign in 2016’<\/h2>\n
‘Between Trump\u2019s silly crypto scam and Melania talking about her nude modelling, you really have to appreciate how laser focused they are…’<\/h2>\n