When Donald Trump first began campaigning for president, all of his family was suddenly thrust into the spotlight. Everyone faced additional scrutiny, but none of the family bore the brunt of that scrutiny more than Melania Trump. Trump’s election would make her First Lady of the United States, a position from which she would wield tremendous influence.
Because of that, many were shocked when some of her nude modeling photos resurfaced in 2016. Those photos obviously did not keep Donald Trump from winning the presidential election, but they created a controversy for Melania that lingers to this day. However, she has recently spoken out in defense of those photos, essentially changing the narrative that she was a victim of the old images getting republished in an effort to hurt her husband’s political career.
Just what did Melania Trump say about her nude photos? What kind of scandal did those pics originally cause, and what does her defense of the images say about her own future? Keep reading to find out!
Melania Trump’s history of nude modeling
The first time Melania Trump modeled nude, it was for Max Magazine in the late ‘90s. The second time, it was for British GQ in 2000. At the time, the future FLOTUS was a very active model, and posing nude helped to take her career to the next level.
Of the two photoshoots, the one for British GQ is the most memorable…or, at least, the one that fascinated the public the most when these images were republished in 2016. In one of these pics, Melania looks like an action hero, wearing sunglasses and pointing a gun while standing in front of Donald Trump’s jet. Other photos include her posing next to a suitcase of glittering goods and another where she looks like a cyberpunk hero.
Love or hate Melania, you can’t say that these photos aren’t creative!
RELATED: The Amazing Transformation Of Melania Trump
The nude photos caused a scandal for Donald Trump
Melania Trump’s nude photos flew mostly under the radar for the better part of two decades. At the time, there wasn’t much media focus on her. If she appeared in headlines at all, Melania was typically just referred to as Donald Trump’s third wife.
However, British GQ republished their photos shortly after Donald Trump won the 2016 election. This instantly caused a scandal on two fronts: one for Melania, with many wondering how we went from having classy former FLOTUS Michelle Obama to having a naked model in the White House. It also caused a scandal for Donald Trump, as the circulation of these photos hurt his image as the leader of a conservative party ostensibly known for its religious morality and emphasis on family values.
Melania is now defending the nude photos
Because of the aforementioned scandals, many people always assumed that Melania Trump was ashamed of her nude modeling. While that’s never really been the case (more on this soon), she made some very recent statements explicitly defending her history of naked photos.
She made a video post to X (formerly Twitter) that began with a provocative question: “Why do I stand proudly behind my nude modeling work?” She went on to answer the question with another query: “The more pressing question is, why has the media chosen to scrutinize my celebration of the human form in a fashion photo shoot?”
Continuing, she said, “We should honor our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of self-expression.” Even though all of this is obviously a way of promoting her upcoming book Melania, it’s surprising and a bit refreshing to hear the former FLOTUS speaking openly about the importance of body positivity.
RELATED: The Darkest Secrets Melania Trump Has Tried To Keep Hidden
Has Melania always been proud of these photos?
Earlier, we mentioned the widespread assumption that Melania Trump has been ashamed of these photos. That assumption was fueled partially by others who claimed she was angry about the photos being republished and searching for parties to blame, including Roger Stone.
However, back when Melania had a bio on the White House website, it specifically called out the British GQ photoshoot as one of the high points of her career. In other words, she didn’t exactly seem ashamed of her naughty past, an opinion that is shared by her famous husband.
Donald Trump is not ashamed of his wife’s NSFW photos
While he has had three wives and has been accused of affairs with multiple women, Donald Trump always seemed very possessive of his spouse. For that reason, there is a frequent assumption that he must be ashamed of Melania Trump’s nude photos…after all, these are photos where she shows the entire world the sight of a naked body that would normally be for Donald’s eyes only. Once again, though, the assumption is incorrect.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Donald Trump said, “Melania was one of the most successful models and she did many photo shoots, including for covers and major magazines.” Continuing, he said, “This was a picture taken for a European magazine prior to my knowing Melania. In Europe, pictures like this are very fashionable and common.”
In his own way, Trump is also advocating for body positivity. And he certainly seems unashamed of his wife’s history of naughty photos.
RELATED: Melania Trump Finally Speaks Up About Those Plastic Surgery Rumors