In the heat of a national election, it's not just the candidates and incumbents who get caught up in all manner of "controversies" and public debates, but frequently their spouses as well. Sometimes these discussions revolve around valid topics, particularly when the spouse is (or was) also involved in politics or potentially illicit behavior. But in other cases, we're treated to rather tawdry displays of cynical media backbiting in an effort to generate some cheap headlines and clicks. The latter appears to be the case with questions that recently arose surrounding former First Lady Melania Trump's upcoming memoir. Questions are being raised about Melania's nude modeling work and if that's an "appropriate" image for a First Lady to project to the public, particularly when it comes to children. As usual, Melania fielded the question with style and grace, asking those who question her former fashion career how it is that we no longer celebrate the beauty of the human body. (NY Post)

Former first lady Melania Trump defended her nude modeling work in her latest promotional push for her upcoming memoir.

The former model, 54, took to Instagram to discuss her previous career on Wednesday.

“Why do I stand proudly behind my nude modeling work?” the mom of one asked in a voice-over.

“The more pressing question is, why has the media chosen to scrutinize my celebration of the human form in a fashion photo shoot?” she said.

I'm still almost entirely clueless as to why this would suddenly be a subject that is showing up in the news aside from the fact that her husband is strongly in contention for another term as president. The story has been beaten to death repeatedly while producing little to no tangible results. Melania has never made a secret of her career as an international fashion model nor the fact that some of her photo shoots included topless images, which is quite common in Europe. 

Let's first keep in mind that there is a significant difference between a topless photo shoot and actual pornography. I went back today to dredge up some of Melania's more "racy" images from her modeling days. (I swear to the Good Lord that you people have no appreciation for the amount of tedious research I pour into these articles on your behalf.) The majority of the images barely qualify as "topless" and there is nothing pornographic about them. She was an international supermodel and she was sought out for such photo shoots. She also speaks five languages, for what that's worth. She was and still is a stunningly beautiful woman based on typical, conventional standards. 

The point is, she did not traffic in pornography. (Discussions of some of her husband's paramours can be left for another day.) Melania Trump is almost certainly one of the most beautiful and intelligent women to ever grace the East Wing and she added a lot to the social standing of Donald Trump as president without dipping her toes very deeply into politics or policy. To be fair, Nancy Reagan was also something of a stunner in her day and a talented star of the stage and screen, but those days were well behind her by the time she went to Washington with her husband.

We could look at some of the other spouses involved in the current turmoil of the presidential race, but there doesn't seem to be much of a point to it. I found some early pictures of Jill Biden and she seemed to be quite a looker back in the day, but there isn't anything particularly controversial involved. I suppose we could talk about Doug Emhoff, who is a bit younger, but even back in the day he didn't jump out as potential modeling material. This entire story seems to be little more than a nothingburger, but it at least gives us an excuse to think back on Melania's modeling career, so it's not a complete waste of time.