Five years ago, the New York Post published n>de photos of Melania Trump, just three months before the US presidential election. In her biography of the First Lady, biographer Kate Bennett claimed that Donald Trump had encouraged the leak of these photos at the time...
Did Donald Trump embarrass his wife to serve his own interests? This is the theory put forward by biographer Kate Bennett in her book Free, Melania: The Unauthorized Biography. It is 2016, just three months before the US presidential election, which pits Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton. As Melania Trump prepares to potentially succeed the very popular Michelle Obama, the New York Post publishes photos from a very n>de photoshoot, dating from 1996. In the photos, Melania Trump, then aged 25, is wearing nothing but stiletto heels.
For Kate Bennett, the timing of the publication of the photos was not insignificant. At the same time, Donald Trump, then a candidate for the White House, was embroiled in a controversy after criticizing the father of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq. "Donald Trump spends his time smearing the reputation of Muslims. He disrespects other minorities: women, judges, and even leaders of his own party," declared the father of the deceased soldier, much to the dismay of Donald Trump, who responded sharply.
An attempt at diversion? The biographer is convinced that Roger Stone, Donald Trump's advisor and close friend, would have at the time ensured that these famous photos were published in the press, in an attempt to make people forget the latest controversy surrounding the candidate. "At the time, the idea that Trump could do this to his wife was so sickening and the photos so tacky that the media decided not to cover the subject too much. Melania has not reacted to the way in which the tabloids were able to get their hands on these photos but her friends say that she refuses to believe that he could have done this to her. As for Stone, she is not so sure," wrote Kate Bennett in her book. For his part, Melania Trump's husband had done everything to minimize the situation, by declaring that these types of photos were "fashionable and commonplace in Europe".
