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Former first lady Melania Trump has criticized fashion magazine Vogue and its editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, for discriminating between her and other First Ladies of the country.
In a recent interview with Fox Nation, Trump said that the magazine has a bias against her, which is why she wasn't featured on the front cover of Vogue while her husband was serving as the president.
Melania Trump didn't appear on the front cover of Vogue during her time as America's first lady
In the interview with the channel, host Pete Hegseth brought up the topic by asking:
"How did you put up with the constant criticism?"
He continued by saying that other first ladies like Jill Biden, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama have all been on the cover during their period of service, while Kamala Harris adorned the first page even before she took her oath, so what was the reason for her exclusion? He said:
"Take Vogue, for example — five months into Joe Biden's presidency, Jill Biden's on the cover. [Vice President] Kamala Harris is on the cover before she's even sworn in. Hillary Clinton was on the cover when she was the first lady. Michelle was on the cover three times. Yet with your business background and your fashion background and your beauty, never on the cover of Vogue. Why the double standard?"
Melania Trump opened up by saying:
"They're biased and they have likes and dislikes, and it's so obvious. And I think American people and everyone sees it. It was their decision, and I have much more important things to do and I did in the White House than being on the cover of Vogue."
Trump's predecessor, Michelle Obama, became the face of the magazine thrice during her husband's period of service. Her first feature came just a month after Obama's election, in February 2009, then in 2013, and finally in November 2016. Hillary Clinton was the only first lady to appear on the cover before Obama in 1998, and Biden made the front in June last year.
Vogue started featuring America's first ladies in their magazine with Lou Henry Hoover in 1929. Eleanor Roosevelt, Mamie Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, and Laura Bush all appeared in the pages of Vogue during their stay in the White House.
According to her former fixer Stephanie Winston-Wolkoff, Melania Trump was also offered a Vogue shoot shortly after Trump came to power, but she refused because the magazine couldn't promise her a front cover feature.
However, Trump did make the magazine cover once in 2005. The magazine covered her wedding to Donald Trump, who at the time was one of the most successful property businessmen in the country. Trump has also made the cover for British GQ and Vanity Fair Mexico.
Anna Wintour shared her views on the first ladies of America
In an April 2019 interview with CNN, Wintour was asked why she chose more Democratic politicians over Republican ones. She was vague with her reply, but indicated that people like Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris were better representatives of inspiring women. She said:
“If you’re talking about the first lady [Michelle Obama] or Senator [Kamala] Harris, obviously these are women that we feel are icons and inspiring to women from a global perspective."
She added:
"Those of us that work at Conde Nast believe that you have to stand up for what you believe in and you have to take a point of view.”
Then in July of the same year, Wintour refused to acknowledge Melania Trump as the first lady. When The Economist’s Anne McElvoy asked Wintour to name her favorite item from Mrs. Trump’s wardrobe, the fashion icon replied:
“Well, I think first lady Michelle Obama was so incredible in every decision she made about fashion. She supported young American designers. She supported designers, indeed, from all over the world. She was the best ambassador this country could have, in many ways, obviously way beyond fashion... ”
McElvoy promptly cut in to remind Wintour that Obama was not the first lady anymore, and the question was about Melania Trump. She replied:
“And for me, she is the example I admire."
Melania Trump's former spokesperson Stephanie Grisham hit back at these comments by saying that being "on the cover of Vogue doesn't define Mrs. Trump," and that she had already "done that long before she was first lady."
President Trump has also criticized the magazine for failing to give his wife a front cover. He has, time and again, labeled the magazine as fake news, calling the people behind it "elitist snobs in the fashion press."
