© Antoine Verglas
Melania Trump
Since we republished the photographs
of Melania Knauss in early 2016 – featuring the then-girlfriend of
Donald Trump appearing scantily dressed on the wing of his private
Boeing 727, wielding a silver M1911 pistol – the photo shoot has
been ever-present in the US national consciousness. It sparked a
vicious argument between Republican candidate Ted Cruz and Trump;
was Googled tens of millions of times by curious Americans; and
ended up on the list of things that Melania Trump is most proud of
on her White House biography page as First Lady of the United
States.
Melania Trump – the First Lady in our nude photo
shoot
By GQ
Sixteen years ago we profiled Donald Trump’s
then-girlfriend Melania Knauss. Now his wife, Melania featured in
our naked profile shoot on his customised Boeing 727 wearing
handcuffs, wielding diamonds and holding a chrome pistol (it was
the lads mag era after all). It makes for some interesting reading
today, considering Donald Trump’s success in the US election…
Now the Washington Post reports
that this photo shoot might have helped Melania Knauss secure
permanent residency in the United States under a visa program
designed for Oscar-winners, Olympic athletes and nuclear
physicists. Only those with “extraordinary abilities” or who have
demonstrated “sustained national and international acclaim” are
able to secure an EB-1 Visa, created under the US Immigration Act
of 1990, which Melania was granted in late 2001.
It was in 2000 that Melania Knauss applied
for such a visa: at the time, her notable achievements were the
aforementioned GQ photo shoot, appearances on runways at
fashion shows in Europe and a spot in the swimsuit edition of
Sports Illustrated. In 2001, she was granted one of only
3,376 EB-1 visas, a fraction of the one million green cards issued
that year. Ironically, Melania is now using this visa to secure
legal residency for her parents, something that her husband
President Trump has criticised immigrants for doing.
We were bombarded by requests to shoot
Melania,” GQ editor Dylan Jones said when asked about our
January 2000 nude shoot with Melania Trump, after we had dug
through the archives and published the images online in March 2016.
“Given that she was obviously so keen to be featured in
GQ, we came up with a rather kitsch and camp story for her
to feature in.” Donald Trump also requested that photographs be
delivered to his office. “We framed the cover and a selection of
prints and sent them as soon as we could.”
It appears the First Lady is ra
ther proud of the images: the new White House website lists the
cover shoot as one of her greatest achievements. Recently it has
become a source of controversy as questions are raised over how
Melania secured her US visa.
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Now you know the back story, scroll
down to see the article and images that were originally published
in the January 2000 issue of British GQ.
Want jet-set chic? Then sex, style and
18-carat gold seat belts are essential. Supermodel Melania [now Mrs
Donald Trump] is the launch pad for 14 pages of high living.
© Antoine Verglas
There was a time when the Mile High Club
was a stand-up organisation. The price of entry was a stolen moment
in the cramped and hardly seductive surroundings of a 747 loo, and
the penalties for being caught were harsh. Which is a shame when
you consider the undeniable frission travelling at 30,000 feet adds
to any assignation. Now airlines have wised-up, with Virgin
Atlantic offering double beds to its Upper Class passengers. But if
you’re going to get that all-important upgrade, then you’re going
to have to join the jet set. And there are rules.
© Antoine Verglas
Enter high-spirited Donald Trump to show
us how it’s done. The billionaire New York property magnate, Reform
Party presidential candidate and proud owner of this custom-fitted
727 (even the seat buckles are 18-carat gold) is an expert in the
art of in-flight entertainment. And his personal hostess,
26-year-old Slovenian supermodel Melania Knauss, might just end up
as the next First Lady. Flight of fancy? Not if The Donald has his
way.
© Antoine Verglas
Heavyweight political commentators may
scoff, but the delectable Miss Knauss is relishing the prospect of
a future pressing the flesh on state occasions. “I will put all my
effort into it, and I will support my man,” she said recently.
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© Antoine Verglas
“She’s popular, she’s brilliant, she’s a
wonderful woman,” says Trump with uncharacteristic understatement.
And who are we to disagree? Not only does she manage to keep a man
fabled for his erections (the latest is the Trump World Tower on
New York’s First Avenue) on the right flight path, but she’s also
fluent in four languages. Very handy for those summit meetings.
“I’m going to do everything I can do see
that regular Americans can fly as high as their wings will take
them,” says Trump. He’s got our vote.
Originally published in January 2000