Melania Trump spoke out on her history of nude modeling for the first time on Wednesday.
"Why has the media chosen to scrutinize my celebration of the human form in a fashion photo shoot?" Trump asked, in a video shared to X that compared her modeling to classical art and sculptures. "Are we no longer able to appreciate the beauty of the human body?"
While there's absolutely nothing wrong with the fact that the one-time model posed nude throughout her career, the former First Lady has remained mum about her photo spreads even after they became the subject of a New York Post-generated controversy during the 2016 election.
"We should honor our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of self-expression," Trump shared in her video.
https://t.co/ZCTwZSqZND pic.twitter.com/FH9SRFQeUR
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) September 18, 2024
Trump's past modeling work no doubt made for some awkward conversation around the Resolute Dinner Table after her husband Donald Trump signed on to a wide-ranging anti-pornography pledge that likely would have barred the sort of magazine covers on which the Slovenian-American model made her name.
Still, it's been quite a while since the Post tried and failed to make a fuss. As always, the answer to "why now?" in right-wing media circles turns out to be "they have a book to promote." Melania is planning to drop a memoir ahead of the election and her recent social media activity — including a strange, noirish clip from earlier this month — all point viewers toward a pre-order link.
“As a private person who has often been the subject of public scrutiny and misrepresentation, I feel a responsibility to clarify the facts,” Melania said of the book.
