Melania Trump Defends Nude Modeling Work as She Promotes Book

In what is certainly a first for a former first lady, Melania Trump is defending her past work as a nude model, calling it a form of art in “celebration of the human form” and blaming “the media” for scrutinizing it.

In a 45-second <a class=«css-yywogo» href=«https://x.com/MELANIATRUMP/status/1836375317646086533?ref_src=» https: title="" rel=«noopener noreferrer» target="_blank">video clip

posted to her social media accounts on Wednesday, Mrs. Trump, 54, provided some of the most extensive remarks she has given about the topic — or any topic, really — since her departure from the White House in January 2021.

“Are we no longer able to appreciate the beauty of the human body?” Mrs. Trump asks in the video, as images of classical paintings and sculptures, including John Collier’s “Lady Godiva” and Michelangelo’s “David,” cycle across the screen. “We should honor our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of self-expression.”

Her defense of nude modeling, with its broader call for artistic expression, was part of a series of videos promoting a memoir set for release in October. But the latest message struck a somewhat jarring chord: Her career as a model has not been the subject of broad news coverage since the 2016 presidential race.

So Mrs. Trump’s much-delayed response was delivered in the middle of a toxic election season marred by two assassination attempts against her husband, former President Donald J. Trump.

In July, after Mr. Trump was grazed by a bullet in the first attempt, Mrs. Trump wrote an open letter condemning a “heinous” act of violence that had threatened to change her life forever. She has offered no such comments since Mr. Trump was apparently targeted on Sunday, and her