Melania Trump’s White House Bio Focuses On Her Modeling Career And Jewelry Line — And People Are Rightfully Concerned [Opinion]
The White House website has officially been handed over to the Trump administration. With it comes the biographies of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
First Lady Melania Trump’s White House bio, which can be read in full on the White House website, heavily focuses on her modeling career and jewelry line. Per CNN, the Trump association has already edited Melania’s bio once to remove a plug to her QVC jewelry line after receiving a great deal of backlash. The Trump association claims the First Lady’s bio was edited because they didn’t want people to see the QVC plug as a brand endorsement. The question is – would the Trump association have removed the plug if it hadn’t received so much backlash?
“In April 2010, Melania Trump launched her own jewelry collection, ‘Melania™ Timepieces & Jewelry,’ on QVC,” was what the White House bio originally said before it was edited to remove the QVC plug. A representative of QVC also told CNN they do “not have an active relationship with the brand.”
It didn’t take long for the internet to respond to the QVC plug in Melania Trump’s White House bio. For the most part, the new First Lady appears to be getting slammed for plugging her own jewelry product line into her bio. Check out some of the responses to the plug in the White House bio below.
White House website promotes Melania #Trump modeling & jewelry line @OversightDems Consider this my formal complaint https://t.co/JNtxiPX51L
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) January 21, 2017
#ConflictsOfInterest questions arise: White House site now notes that @FLOTUS launched her Melania™ jewelry on QVC. https://t.co/CN9MvL9zQP
— Marilyn Geewax (@geewaxnpr) January 20, 2017
Trump made sure to mention Melania's QVC jewelry line on WH site.
Stripped it of climate change, AIDS policy mentions #priorities https://t.co/DA8QYLLP7Y
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) January 20, 2017
Some even took to Twitter to mock the Trump association for removing the plug to Melania Trump’s QVC jewelry line only after receiving so much backlash for it.
White House site took down references to Melania's QVC jewelry lines after press reported on it. https://t.co/ojpHKUNohn
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) January 21, 2017
The plug to QVC jewelry in First Lady Melania Trump’s bio on the White House website isn’t the only thing that has the internet rightfully concerned. There’s also the fact that the bio focuses heavily on the struggles of her modeling career.
“Melania Knavs began her modeling career at the age of sixteen. She would pursue a degree at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, but pause her studies to advance her modeling career in Milan and Paris before moving to New York in 1996.”
The bio goes on to discuss some of the photographers Melania has worked with over the years including some of the top names in the fashion industry such as Patrick Demarchelier, Helmut Newton, Arthur Elgort, Ellen Von Unwerth, and Peter Arnell.
It is only after going into pretty extensive detail about Melania’s modeling career that the bio took a shift and talked about how she is a “successful entrepreneur” for launching her own jewelry collection back in 2010.
It was just a few hours after the bio of the First Lady was released that the Trump association edited the bio to read simply, “In April 2010, Trump launched her own jewelry collection.”
It isn’t until the very end of the bio on the White House website that readers are given any indication as to what Melania could possibly offer as the First Lady of the United States. In the very last sentence of her bio, her views on issues that she cares about are finally discussed.
“Mrs. Trump cares deeply about issues impacting women and children, and she has focused her platform as First Lady on the problem of cyber bullying among our youth.”
A lot of Americans have expressed concern for the bio on the White House website claiming it is raising a lot of eyebrows and the concern couldn’t be more just. After all, Melania Trump’s bio reads more like a resume or a cover letter than a biography.
She’s already the First Lady of the United States, so why does it feel like she’s applying for the position in her biography? More importantly, what exactly does her career in modeling and extensive experience with famous photographers have to do with her position as First Lady?
Personally, I would hate for other countries to read Melania Trump’s bio on the White House website and assume she is an example of what women are like in the United States.
If her sole purpose to serve as pretty eye candy on Donald Trump’s arm while he runs the United States? If so, she should have no problem doing that as many have not been shy about pointing out it is the first time we have had a “beautiful” First Lady. But – in all seriousness – what exactly does her “beauty” have to do with her ability to be our first lady?
What do you think about Melania Trump’s bio on the White House website? Share your thoughts with me in the comments section down below!
[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]
