Eleanor Roosevelt was certainly an admirable champion for social justice, and she was right out there near the front lines visiting the troops during WWII. (Big Eleanor fan here.) Jackie Kennedy replaced some chipped china and spruced up a dowdy and tatty White House. But the first First Lady to have a formal agenda was Lady Bird Johnson. She went all in to beautify the country's public spaces. And you know what? She may have been the only First Lady who actually managed to fulfill her agenda. Public spaces are more attractive than they were when I was a kid. And there are a lot more flowers out there, too.
But mostly, the First Ladies' agendas, however heartfelt, are usually somewhat 'meh,' especially when it comes to showing any concrete results.
I mean, Nancy Reagan wanted folks to 'Just Say No' to drugs, which was a good idea, but mosty it resulted in a lot more folks (especially Black folks) being incarcerated. Hillary Clinton futilely tried to take on the cause of universal health care. Barbara Bush and Laura Bush were both focused on literacy - a great cause, but if anything, our population has gotten dumber over the years, not smarter. Michelle Obama wanted kids to be fitter, but was attacked by those who want the freedom to keep their kids unhealthy. Jill Biden is an education advocate, and works on behalf of military families.
Sure, these agendas are better than those espoused by the average Miss America. ("If I could meet one famous person in history, it would be Aristotle, so that we could discuss the philosophies of the ages. And then I could bring about world peace.") While most of them certainly do put their hearts into it, mostly these agendas are just something to do to keep the First Ladies visible.
And then there was Melania Trump.
You almost have to admire the disdain she had for the process. ("I really don't care, do you?") Almost.
Her announced agenda was just plain laughable. Anti-bullying? Are you kidding me? When you're married to the Bully-in-Chief?
Mostly, she seemed content to look at herself in the mirror and dress up in expensive clothing. That and sit around in a little one-person pity party imagining the she was the most bullied person in the world. Admittedly, most of the time she looked good, which is easy enough to do if you're pretty (albeit more and more plasticky as time marches on), tall, slender, leggy, and have a lot of money to spend on clothing.
Since she didn't do much when she was in office, other than see to her bogus agenda, tear up the Rose Garden, oversee Christmas displays that looked like they were designed by a Batman bad guy, and aid and abet her rotten husband, I wasn't expecting much once she'd exited 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Supposedly, she's writing a memoir. God knows, most political memoirs are whitewashed hogwash, but this one? I haven't seen any deets, but I can't imagine a reputable publishing house wanting to get into it with this vapid clothes horse, especially given that the likelihood of the book containing one shred of honesty, insight, and reflection is just about nil. (Her husband's first post-WH book was, not surprisingly, a coffee table picture book of his Presidential travels. It wasn't brought out be a "real" publisher, but by an outfit called Winning Team Publishing, which was founded by none other than Don, Jr.)
But grifters gotta grift, and Mel would, naturally, want to figure out how to build a revenue stream of her own. So she's auctioning off the "iconic" hat she wore when Emmanuel Macron (et Brigitte Macron, la Première Dame de France) paid a call on the Trump White House.
The White Broad-Brimmed, High Blocked Crown Hat With a nod to French culture, Mrs. Trump commissioned French American designer, Hervé Pierre, to create the one-of-a-kind white hat. Mr. Pierre used the same fabric as Mrs. Trump's white Michael Kors suit and constructed the piece in New York City. (Source: Press release from the office of Melania Trump, put out on PR Newswire)
But, as befits the office of someone who was once a jewelry pitchwoman on QVC, WAIT! THERE'S MORE!
"The Head of State Collection" - get it, hat, head! - also includes "an original watercolor on paper by Marc-Antoine Coulon, and an exclusive digital artwork NFT with motion."
Mr. Coulon's watercolor on paper celebrates the April 2018 French State Visit. This painting [which is a picture of the hat] measures 29.7cm x 40.5cm and is an edition of one. Signed by Melania Trump and Marc-Antoine Coulon
Digital Artwork NFT with motion by Marc-Antoine Coulon, 2021 The digital artwork, a one-of-a-kind NFT of Marc-Antoine Coulon's watercolor [of the hat] with movement, was designed to commemorate the important historical moment and highlight the iconic hat. The NFT is an edition of one. Signed by Melania Trump and Marc-Antoine Coulon
NFT's have got to be right up the Trumps' alley. Selling nothing for something! (Melania has already dabbled in NFT's, having hawked an NFT of a watercolor of her eyes - again by Coulon - and narrated by Melania. If you'd been on the ball, they were up for grabs on her website in December.)
An unspecified "portion of the proceeds" from the current auction will go to Fostering the Future, A Be Best Initiative. (And here I didn't think Be Best was for real. Tsk, tsk.) This has a reasonably good purpose: helping young folks who've been in foster care get a computer science and technology eduction. But who knows how much money will actually go there way? It may actually be some. At least that's the plan, as Melania's promising to award the first scholarships in Q1 2022. But aren't we still waiting to see her visa application??? It's so easy to miss a promised deadline when you're all caught up in selling your hat and an NFT.
The starting bid for the "iconic" hat and other stuff is $250K - payable using SOL crypto. (Wanna bet some Trump-supporting wankers have a hand in Solana?)I mean, it's a cool hat and all. And Melania sure knows how to wear it.
But $250K? In crypto, yet?
Can't exactly blame Melania. Grifters gotta grift and all that.
But who, exactly, is going to buy this?
Be Best!
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