You ok, hun? It seems as if there is "something weird going on" with Melania Trump, said The Guardian's Arwa Mahdawi.
The former (and possibly returning) First Lady of the United States of America has a memoir coming out on 8 October. So far, so unsurprising. But there has been surprisingly "little fanfare" around this new book, simply titled "Melania". No book tour, no interviews, just a series of short-form videos, which her other half has dutifully reposted to his millions of followers.
'Weird and off-putting'
Those promo videos, delivered in Melania's characteristic "sphinx-like style", are "somewhat cryptic", said The New York Times' Shawn McCreesh. In one, she talks in front of a "shadowy backdrop", dressed in black, to "muse conspiratorially" about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. "There is definitely more to this story," she observes. "And we need to uncover the truth.”
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The unorthodox promotional strategy for "Melania" has been "sort of successful", said The Cut's Olivia Craighead, insofar as it suggests just "how weird and off-putting" the contents of the memoir itself might be.
The cover gives nothing away, said Mahdawi. It's as "basic as you can get": a black background with MELANIA in white type. Those intrigued to see what's inside can place their orders on her website, where hardcore fans can also buy a $250 (£188) collector's edition.
'Perfect timing'
The tome may well turn out to consist of little more than a "bunch of photos of fancy rugs with fanciful captions", said Mahdawi. But could it be that Melania, who is "rumoured to hate politics and her husband", has "played the long game" and is actually going to give us a no-holds-barred rundown of "where the proverbial bodies are buried" – and "why Ivana Trump's actual body is interred on the former president's golf course"?
She has been decidedly publicity-shy of late, notably absent during her husband's trial for paying hush money to a porn star. She appeared in a blaze of red Dior glory at the Republican convention in July, as well as at two fund-raisers at Mar-a-Lago and Trump Tower, but remained silent at all of them.
That Melania's creative endeavour is a Trojan horse waiting to "sink Trump's election chances" is almost certainly "wishful thinking" from his opponents, though, says Mahdawi. The truth about the 45th president may be out there but "it's not going to be in Melania's memoir".
After all, this is perfect timing for November's election, said The Times's Camilla Long. "For Donald Trump it is clearly yet another attempt to woo back the Karens of America, the most crucial demographic."
