The new editor of Vanity Fair has enraged his staff by considering putting Melania Trump on the magazine’s cover—which then sparked a MAGA backlash to the backlash.
On Sunday, Semafor reported that Mark Guiducci—who was Anna Wintour’s handpicked successor to lead the Condé Nast outlet—is considering how he could revamp Vanity Fair’s coverage of celebrities to appeal more to conservatives. One idea: putting the first lady on the cover.
However, immediately after that initial report, staff at the New York-based publication began to sound the alarm to the press.
On Monday, the Daily Mail spoke to a “mid-level editor” at the magazine who said that there would be immediate turnover if Melania made the cover.
“I will walk out the motherf---ing door, and half my staff will follow me,” the editor said.
“We are not going to normalize this despot and his wife; we’re just not going to do it. We’re going to stand for what’s right.”
The editor was apparently willing to work any job to avoid staying at the magazine under such circumstances.
“If I have to work bagging groceries at Trader Joe’s, I’ll do it,” the editor said. “If [Guiducci] puts Melania on the cover, half of the editorial staff will walk out, I guarantee it.”
If Guiducci does proceed with his idea, it would be a departure from Condé Nast’s approach to managing the Trumps during the first administration: despite the fashion magazine Vogue traditionally offering the first lady a cover photo shoot, Melania Trump has not been on the cover of American Vogue since 2005.
Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, and Jill Biden all graced the Vogue cover while their husbands were president, with Obama appearing three times and Biden appearing twice.
While Vanity Fair‘s staff seemed to recoil at the prospect of Melania appearing on the cover, Guiducci did gain some fans in one place for the idea: Fox and Friends.
The Fox hosts threw their support behind the magazine’s leadership, with host Ainsley Earnhardt saying Guiducci is on the right track.
“I would buy the magazine” if Melania made the cover, she said. “I’d buy several of them if they would do this, just to prove a point.”
Meanwhile, fellow host Brian Kilmeade said that Guiducci should try to root out the Vanity Fair staffer who spoke to the Mail.
“You should be fired,” he said. “If you’re at Vanity Fair right now, look for a mid-level editor who looks angry, and toss them out and send them to Trader Joe’s!“
In December, Melania Trump appeared on Fox and Friends and Kilmeade asked her if she thought she would make a fashion magazine cover during her second stint as first lady.
“I’ve been there,” the former model said. “For me, we have so many other important things to do than to be on the cover of any magazine.”
A spokesperson for the first lady did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
