Donald Trump complains that his wife has not been featured on any cover during her 4 years in the White House
In his verbose Twitter speech, Donald Trump has this time targeted the major fashion publications. The president of the United States was not pleased at all that in his four years in office not a single women's magazine has dedicated a cover to the first lady, Melania Trump. Last Friday, Christmas Day, he retweeted a message from the digital page "Breitbart" which read: "The elitist snobs of the fashion press have banished from their pages the most elegant first lady in history." Trump shared the message and added his own: "The greatest of all time" and called the magazines fake news.
Melania Trump's predecessors in the White House did obtain the support and complacency of the magazines. Perhaps the most recent and notable case is that of Michelle Obama, who graced the cover of a fashion publication on 12 occasions during her husband's two terms in office. Vogue showed her its confidence on three occasions (the first in 2009 after taking office, in 2012 and in November 2016 shortly after Trump's election victory), with iconic covers such as the one by Annie Leibovitz.
Hillary Clinton graced the cover of Vogue in 1998, under the headline "The Extraordinary Hillary Clinton." Former first ladies Laura and Barbara Bush appeared in the "fashion bible," but not on the cover, during their time in the White House.
The lack of attention paid by women's magazines to Melania Trump is quite striking, given her past as a model, her spectacular figure and her striking style of dress. CNN president Christiane Amanpour confronted Vogue editor Anna Wintour about the indisputable fact that her prized cover features far more Democratic women than Republicans.
Wintour did not deny or apologize for this imbalance or the omission of Trump. “On the cover there are women who are icons and inspirations for women from a global perspective.”
Unaffected by the controversy
Women's magazines belong to private business groups with the right to choose who to put on the cover. From Melania's office, her representatives explained to Fox News that she has more important matters to worry about than a cover.
In addition, before landing at the White House she did manage to see her face printed on some covers. In 2005, dressed in a Christian Dior wedding dress after her wedding with Trump, she appeared on the cover of Vogue. Five years earlier, she starred in a nude cover shoot for the British version of "GQ" when she was still known by her maiden name, Melania Knauss.
