America and Russia are known to have shared a complicated relationship for decades now. Donald Trump, in his first term as the President of the US, expressed his intention to improve the relations but went on to expel diplomats and impose sanctions instead. Upon his return to the White House after his victory in the 2024 presidential elections, the geopolitical rivalry continues, especially with the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
In May 2023, Donald Trump told CNN, “If I am President, I will have that war settled in one day.” And now when he has been elected as the President, Trump hopes to negotiate a successful peace deal. But it seems to be a distant dream now.
When Donald Trump won the recent elections, Russian state television congratulated him by showing explicit images of his wife, Melania Trump.
In November 2024, Russia-1, a state-owned TV channel, discussed the impact of Trump’s return to the White House. In its 60 Minutes program, hosts Yevgeny Popov and Olga Skabeyeva presented numerous pictures of Melania Trump from her modeling days, including her sensational GQ photoshoot in which she posed without clothes.
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In the video, the host could be heard saying in Russian, “Now that Melania Trump’s husband has finally won, she is getting ready to come back to the White House for a second time. Here is how Melania looked in the year 2000. This is the cover of the magazine GQ.”
“The future first lady lies on top of furs in a negligee. Inside the magazine, Melania’s sexy photos near a private plane and aboard the plane. In one of the shots, the model is wearing only her underwear, lying on a blue carpet with the US seal, as though the editors of the men’s magazine knew something in advance about the future of their model,” he further said.
Julia Davis, founder of the Russia Media Monitor watchdog group, shared the clip on X and wrote, “Meanwhile in Russia: this is how the most watched state TV channel in the country welcomed Melania Trump’s upcoming return to the White House. Olga Skabeeva is trying not to laugh. This was probably her idea.”
The incident sparked massive outrage among Trump supporters and now a US Representative has also condemned Russia’s cheap attempt to demean the newly-elected president and his wife.
During the proceedings in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, February 4, Rep Joe Wilson slammed Putin. He said, “War criminal Putin has ignored peace initiatives with record rocket attacks on civilians in Ukraine. With Putin’s state television shamefully broadcasting nude pictures of America’s first lady, who is so beloved, Melania Trump.”
While Russia has tried to belittle the First Lady for her work as a model, she continues to take pride in it. In September 2024, in a promotional video of her memoir, she said, “Why do I stand proudly behind my nude modeling work? The more pressing question is: Why has the media chosen to scrutinize my celebration of the human form in a fashion photo shoot?” Trump said. “Are we no longer able to appreciate the beauty of the human body?”
https://t.co/ZCTwZSqZND pic.twitter.com/FH9SRFQeUR
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) September 18, 2024
She further said in the voiceover video, “We should honor our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of self-expression.”
