Melania Trump Gave Anna Wintour the Cold Shoulder During a Visit to Trump Tower: Book

In the bustling field of Manhattan's upper crust, where fashion and politics intertwine, an interesting feud came to light between former First Lady Melania Trump and the editor-in-chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour. This tussle seemed to show a complicated relationship among them behind fancy clothes and smiles. As mentioned by People, the rift between Melania and Wintour traces its roots back to late 2016. As per Anna: The Biography, written by journalist Amy Odell, Wintour, a longstanding acquaintance of the Trump family, paid a visit to Trump Tower to meet with the then-newly elected President Donald Trump, failing to inform Melania beforehand. This oversight was a big deal for Melania, whose chilly reception to Wintour spoke volumes, revealing the underlying tension fueled by a breach of social etiquette.

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Melania's former friend turned tell-all author, exposed Melania's deep offense at Wintour's lack of prior notice when she spoke with Odell. Melania perceived Wintour's faux pas as a breach of courtesy, refusing to even say 'hello' because she was 'so offended.' Moreover, despite Vogue's endorsement of Hillary Clinton, Wintour reluctantly reached out to Ivanka Trump after the 2020 election for a meeting. "Melania didn't understand that she had been invited to Anna's events not because she was a friend, but simply because she had appeared on the February 2005 cover of Vogue," Odell wrote in her book. 

Later on, Wolkoff wrote in her book about the strain between Ivanka and Melania. The purported tug-of-war over a Vogue cover shoot was also mentioned in Odell's book, which cited the magazine's failure to guarantee a cover as a deal-breaker. As it so turned out, Melania was asked by the Vogue team to be photographed twice: 'once before Trump's inauguration and once after.' However, Odell wrote, "But in part, since they wouldn't guarantee a cover, Melania wouldn't do it."  

Melania's disdain for Vogue and its ilk was evident in her candid remarks. The former FLOTUS mostly believed she would never grace Vogue's cover again, according to Wolkoff, because the magazine was 'jealous' that she had worn stylish outfits without the help of designers: "I don't give a f--- about Vogue or any other magazine. They would never put me on the cover. All these people are so mad." 

In related news, the U.S. Justice Department also took legal action against Wolkoff over her memoir back in 2020, as reported by CNN. The DOJ alleged that Wolkoff had violated a non-disclosure agreement by revealing personal details about Melania. According to the filing, the DOJ aimed to prevent Wolkoff from profiting from the breach and sought to establish a government trust to collect proceeds from her book. It also criticized Wolkoff for not providing a copy of the memoir to the First Lady or the White House counsel's office before its publication.

Wolkoff condemned the lawsuit as 'bullying tactics' and asserted her First Amendment rights. She argued that the confidentiality provisions of her agreement ended when her White House tenure concluded in early 2018. She said in a statement, "The President and First Lady’s use of the US Department of Justice to silence me is a violation of my First Amendment Rights and a blatant abuse of the government to pursue their own personal interests and goals... With the publication of my book, ‘Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with The First Lady,’ I have exercised my right to free expression." The lawsuit was then dropped in 2021.