Melania Trump will again be the First Lady of the United States — and perhaps, this time, the media will treat her as such.
Not one magazine bothered to feature Mrs. Trump on its cover during President Donald Trump’s entire first term, despite her philanthropic work on the “Be Best” anti-bullying campaign, and despite her long and storied career as a cover model (née Melania Knauss) in high demand before her husband entered the political fray.
Breitbart News was the only outlet to feature the First Lady, frequently noting her fashion choices, which were often inspired and original. In contrast, the media had gushed over First Lady Michelle Obama’s outfits — which, while occasionally interesting, were often perceived by the public as garish. The media also fêted Obama and First Lady Jill Biden, with Vogue featuring the current First Lady days after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance.
Melania Trump called out the media’s bias in an interview in 2022, as Breitbart News noted at the time:
Trump’s comments came during an interview with Fox and Friends Weekend’s Pete Hegseth, in which he pointed out that the last three first ladies who were the wives of Democratic presidents had made the cover during their respective tenures in the White House. A clip of the interview was shared on Twitter by former Florida prosecutor Ron Filipkowski.
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Twice failed presidential candidate and former first lady Hillary Clinton made the cover while her husband, former President Bill Clinton, was in office, and Michelle Obama was featured on the cover three times when she was the first lady, People documented. Hegseth noted that Jill Biden made the cover five months into Joe Biden’s presidency, and so did Vice President Kamala Harris before assuming office.
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Trump did grace the cover in 2005 following her marriage to Donald Trump, in which she donned her wedding dress.
In addition to media snubs, the media sought to humiliate the First Lady with constant stories about her husband’s supposed past dalliances, including the story — and later prosecution — regarding adult film actress Stormy Daniels (née Stephanie Clifford). The media also speculated on the personal, intimate life of the President and First Lady, casting them in the worst light possible.
Perhaps this time, with Trump’s win in the popular vote, the media will treat Melania Trump as the First Lady. But in this window of time before the Inauguration, perhaps they should first offer her an apology.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.