Melania Trump has been noticeably absent from magazine covers since becoming the first lady. The former model has been relatively silent on political issues, leading to speculation as to why she has seemingly been shunned by magazine editors.
NBC News reports that many editors fear a readership and advertisement backlash due to President Trump’s politics, described by one editor as “especially” divisive.
The New York Post notes that outspoken conservative actor James Wood sparked a debate on Twitter last week when he claimed that Melania would grace more magazine covers if the Trumps were Democrats.
The NBC report states that some magazine editors may be taking a political stance.
“Some magazine editors may be putting politics ahead of money and vice versa,” Samir Husni, director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi, told NBC .
Michelle Obama appeared on about 12 magazine covers during Barack Obama’s two-term presidency, including gracing the cover of Vogue three times.
Melania Trump has only appeared on one magazine cover since becoming the first lady. The 47-year-old appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair Mexico , which sparked fury due to President Trump’s alleged controversial comments about Mexicans and the highly debated border wall.
According to Business Insider , some commenters described the magazine cover as an insult to Mexicans. The publication reports that Trump’s criticism of Vanity Fair helped the magazine garner 13,000 more subscribers over a 24-hour period — breaking a record.
There have been other reports of magazines criticized by Trump gaining subscribers, which suggest that shunning the Trumps may be good for business.
We had an informative listening session at the @WhiteHouse today. Thank you to each of the students who shared their thoughts & feelings with me. I am listening and know that together, we can work towards ensuring children everywhere can be their very best. pic.twitter.com/tOzhJD6Qbj
— Melania Trump 45 Archived (@FLOTUS45) April 9, 2018
Melania Trump has not just created distance from her husband’s politics with her relative silence on his controversial comments. The first lady has also remained silent on the Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniel alleged affairs during their marriage.
This has left observers analyzing Melania’s body language and the occasions when she decides to ride in a separate motorcade from Donald Trump.
Some magazine editors state that it is a moral issue because of Donald Trump’s perceived racism, while others describe putting Melania Trump on magazine covers as a “no-win” situation.
According to a CNN poll, Melania Trump’s approval rating peaked at 52 percent and is at 47 percent as of January this year.
It is unclear how her silence on Donald Trump’s alleged affairs and his Twitter attacks will affect her approval rating.
Melania Trump has appeared on several magazine covers as a working. Her work brought her to the United States where she eventually met Donald Trump at a Fashion Week event.
The first lady appeared on the cover of Vogue in 2005 in her wedding dress after marrying the real estate tycoon. Some magazine editors argue that there is nothing to write about Trump as it is difficult to get information from her.
Several tabloid magazines have speculated on Melania Trump’s opinions with some citing anonymous sources.
Last month Stephanie Grisham, the director of communications for Melania Trump, denied a US Weekly report that said the first lady is unhappy with her life. Via the spokeswoman, Melania also demanded that her son Barron is left out of news stories after the Stormy Daniels 60 Minutes interview aired.