After the inaugural hat, the official portrait. Again, Melania Trump telegraphs to the world that we should not expect first lady business as usual. But maybe we should expect business?
The photo, which will surpass Mrs Trump’s official webpage and make his way to the national archives, was taken by Régine Mahaux, a Belgian photographer and Trump Insider who also took the first official portrait of Mrs. Trump in 2017 and whose photos of The president and Mrs. Trump has appeared on the covers from US Weekly, French Vanity Fair, Paris Match and Russian Tatler.
It looks like nothing so much as a promo image for the next season of a show that could be called ‘the boardroom’ if it existed.
The portrait, with Mrs. Trump in a smooth Dolce & Gabbana Tuxedo complete with Cummerbund and white shirt, undone two buttons, shows her silhouetted against a large window, the Washington monument that stuck behind her right shoulder. Her hands are polished on top of a wide desk into a mirrored shine. She stares directly into the camera, mouth in a straight line with just a touch of amusement on the edges. Her hips are somewhat tilted to one side, hair in carefully controlled waves. She looks ready at school the country.
If there was a slogan to guide the photo, there might be: “It’s my turn now.” The energy is less first lady than Boss Lady.
Undoubtedly, the First Lady is always effectively a boss lady. But that aspect of the work has been traditionally hidden from the public, where everyone was involved in compiling the illusion of the presidential spouse as a representative of all things and family. Apparently no more.
The portrait of Mrs. Trump in particular differs from first lady portraits that were taken in grim black and white before and not because it was taken in grimy. As a rule, the official portrait of a First Lady shows her smiling in a hospitable, albeit polished way and is usually broken into an environment that emphasizes the femininity of the official help measurement. That is, it is almost always about flowers. And pearls.
For example, there were flowers and pearls in the pictures of Michelle Obama 2009 And 2013. Flowers and pearls in the shot of Jill Biden in 2021 and Laura Bush In 2001. They all played Gamely the graceful part.
Even Mrs. Trump seemed to make an attempt to get in character for her photo of 2017, which showed her that she was put for the famous West Hall room window of the residence, where Nancy Reagan also posed for her official photo. (Just like Mrs. Reagan, Mrs. Trump had a bow in her neck in the portrait of 2017, although Hare was black instead of red and, again, part of a dolce & gabbana suit.) The arms of Mrs. Trump may be Protective crossed over her chest, the better to show off her huge diamond ring, but the shot was in color, she smiled and bathed the whole thing in a corresponding, soft focus glow.
This time the image is not due to the way things were done earlier. The portrait was taken in the yellow oval room of the house, but you would never know. The area is of no use to it. The reference appears to be more Claire Underwood as president in the last season of “House of Cards” in contrast to every real historical continuum.
That is on-brand for the Trump administration in almost all ways. The president has long taken his instructions from television. He has manned the executive power with TV news personalities. And he happily used Washington’s conventions. Why would the First Lady be different?
At the same time, however, the portrait also acts as a declaration of intent. The First Lady introduced her $ Melania meme coin Shortly after her husband revealed his $ Trump Munt. She is a producer of one documentary On her second stint in the White House, for which Amazon paid a permit of $ 40 million. She still has an online store that sells $ 600 voice Freedom NecklacesChristmas decorations and her memoirs.
This simply makes it clear that she is head of her table. And she is ready to close a deal.
