Melania Trump doesn't seem to like her husband, but the stark truth is that she is his equal

Dylan Jones, the editor who commissioned the shoot, said Hollywood Reporter in 2016: “We were bombarded with requests to shoot Melania. And that's considering she was obviously so keen to be featured in it GQ“We came up with a more cheesy and campy story for her to be in,” Jones said.

Melania's nude modeling story resurfaced in 2016, not because it was discussed in the media, but because she appeared in an attack ad by her husband's political rivals. A super PAC (political action committee) called “Make America Awesome” ran an ad in Utah introducing the issue GQ Pictures. “Meet Melania Trump. “Your next first lady,” the ad said. “Or you could support Ted Cruz next Tuesday.”

Cruz, Trump's rival for the Republican presidential nomination, denied any involvement, but that didn't stop Donald Trump from insulting Cruz's wife in retaliation.

(Anthony Scaramucci, the financier who famously served as Trump's communications director for just 11 days in 2017, has noted on his popular podcast that Trump often insults the wives of his political rivals and colleagues to assert his power and emasculate these men.)

Melania Trump is among the cohort of celebrities who give media interviews to complain about their lack of privacy – a species closely related to actors who give media interviews in which they claim they are actually very shy. But Melania is something of an enigma. She is much more private than her husband. She barely campaigned with him and said she learned about the second Trump assassination attempt when she saw it on the news.

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She never pretended to be particularly interested in the traditional aspect of charitable giving as First Lady. She also didn't seem particularly interested in being a first lady in the ceremonial sense. She was often absent during Trump's presidency, and the headlines she made were unfortunate – for example, in 2018, when she wore a jacket emblazoned with the words “I really don't care.” Or?” Visiting immigrant children in a detention center.

Melania later told ABC News that she purposely wore the jacket to send a message to “the people and the left-wing media who criticize me.” This shows us that she cares deeply about being criticized, although not so much about the immigrant children who were separated from their parents due to the morally repugnant policies of her husband's government.

Melania is inscrutable and speaks softly. She doesn't seem to crave the constant attention that is her husband's oxygen. But she apparently has the same instinct for hustling as he does, and the same instinct for strategically exploiting conspiracy theories.

She has used media appearances to promote her book titled Melania, to drop dark hints about the “truth” behind the first assassination attempt on her husband. On her personal website, Melania is selling signed “Collector's Edition” copies of the book for $250 ($363). A regular copy of the memoir costs about $40. Their website also sells digital “collectibles,” such as a 3D image of a rose.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of these digital assets will go to the foster care charity it supports, but other items – like the $600 gold vermeil “Vote Freedom” necklace – do not come with such a pledge. Neither are the Christmas tree decorations for $90 and the Mother's Day necklace for $245.

The gender politics of first ladies is a fascinating topic. The wives of powerful men are commonly used to soften the husband's image, humanize him, and show the public that a good woman who loves him must be a good man. Melania, as much as she will play the game, seems to be a quieter and more discreet complement to her husband.

Transactional and intent on making as much money as possible from the political ride before it ends.

Jacqueline Maley is an experienced author and columnist.