Melania Trump's first glossy magazine cover as first lady is on Vanity Fair Mexico – but the timing (just as her husband's border-wall plans are souring the U.S. relationship with Mexico) and the pose (FLOTUS is pictured twirling a string of diamonds as if they were spaghetti) are just a little . . . well, off.
The cover promises a look at the glamorous first lady's family, how she deals with her husband and how she plans to become the new Jackie Kennedy. The photo shoot and the accompanying interview are actually recycled content – they originally ran in sister (or is it brother?) publication GQ last year.
The magazine hits newsstands just as the relationship between the United States and its neighbor to the south are fraying, thanks to President Trump's plan to build a wall along the border, and his insistence, despite Mexican leaders' statements to the contrary, that Mexico pay for it.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto canceled a planned meeting with Trump this week after the White House floated the idea of a tax on Mexican goods to pay for the wall (maybe he could learn something from those tactics promised in the Vanity Fair story that Melania uses for dealing with her husband?).
And the former fashion model's let-them-eat-diamonds pose isn't likely to sit well with Mexican readers – or, perhaps, with Trump voters who like his populist message (though, to be fair, many supporters also appreciate his wealth-flaunting image).
The magazine cover is hardly likely to be Melania Trump's last: First ladies as cover models on glossy magazines have become a time-honored tradition. Michelle Obama appeared on the front of Vogue three times, and has graced covers of magazines as varied as Seventeen and Good Housekeeping.
- The Washington Post