Lady and the Trump Dujour

Melania Trump, wife of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump lays out the basic facts about her husband. He's "not Hitler."

"We know the truth. He's not Hitler. He wants to help America. He wants to unite people," Melania Trump explains in her interview with DuJour magazine published today. Trump raised the same issue that she's stated previously, and it has to do with her husband's delivery. He "needs to say it in a softer way," Melania explains.

When asked about the backlash against Julia Ioffe after Trump supporters were outraged over her Melania interview, Mrs. Trump responded: "I don't control my fans, but I don't agree with what they're doing. I understand what you mean, but there are people out there who maybe went too far."

Melania compares herself to more traditional women like Betty Ford or Jackie Kennedy when asked what kind of first lady she would be. But shortly after, she opens up by saying that she's been misrepresented in the media. "How," asks writer Mickey Rapkin.

Citing Chris Matthews, Melania Trump Says 'Men Will Be Men"

“That I’m shy,” she says. “I’m not shy. I know what I want, and I’m selective.” No shame there. It’s just that, in terms of political narratives, this one is a little harder to sell. If Michelle Obama is everyone’s favorite Cool Mom—you know, the one with the toned arms and the perfect J.Crew outfit—Melania is seen as the Queen Bee, the helicopter mom with her own helicopter. If she’s defensive about her qualifications, perhaps she has a right to be, considering she’s getting catcalled on a national stage. Earlier that day, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews was caught ogling her walk, accidentally muttering on-air: “My God, is that good. I could watch that runway show.”

Mrs. Trump pauses, then exhales saying: “I would just say, Men will be men.”

“Men will be men” is also her response when asked about Donald’s old appearances on Howard Stern’s show. Stern once asked if Donald would stay with Melania if she suffered a horrific car accident, and he replied: “How do the breasts look?” Trump played the same macho role at a town-hall meeting at the University of Pennsylvania in 1999, when he shouted out, “Where’s my supermodel?”

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Julia Ioffe's interview of Melania got her in a whole lotta trouble. I can see that the intro might set off the most ardent Trump supporters, but their response was way over the line. Melania herself lashed out at Ioffe, saying that she had misrepresented her family and invaded her parents' privacy with her investigative tactics.

How does a shy ex-model make her way from Slovenia to, just maybe, the White House? To Melania Trump—and to the people who know her back home—her journey to marrying The Donald is like a fairy tale, or a too-crazy-to-believe rom-com. It’s a story full of naked ambition, stunning beauty, a shockingly Trump-like dad, and even some family secrets. Maybe she’s made for Washington after all.

In the 24 hours after the story went online, Trump supporters unleashed a torrent of anti-Semetic and sometimes violent responses on social media. An anonymous caller played an Adolf Hitler speech and photos of her got a Photoshop update as a Holocaust victim. The harassment was so threatening that the writer filed a police report.

Melania Trump didn't approve of Trump supporters behavior but said of Ioffe: "She provoked them."

Interviewed by The Guardian Ioffe said that she has experienced this kind of harassment in Vladimir Putin's Russia. Her family fled Russia when she was a child due to anti-Semitism. The writer, who is now working for Politico magazine, Foreign Policy, The New York Times Magazine and other media sees a frightening future for a free press under a President Trump.

“What happens if Donald Trump is elected?” Ioffe said. “We’ve seen the way he bids his supporters to attack the media, his proposal to change libel laws to make it easier to sue journalists.”

Related: On Trump, Gefilte Fish, and World Order Foreign Policy

Why Won't Trump Denounce His Anti-Semitic Support The Atlantic

Donald Trump and the 'Ideal Woman' The Atlantic

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