'Ham-fisted trolling': Analyst reveals 'sinister' message in Melania Trump's nude defense

Melania Trump's recent defense of her nude modeling exposed a dark truth about her husband's views when it comes to the rights of the haves and the have-nots, a new political analysis contends.

Salon's Amanda Marcotte on Friday argued the former first lady's much mocked promotional video — in which she claims the media is attacking her decision to pose naked — represents a "sinister" and "complicated" effort from Donald Trump's campaign.

"The Trumps are sending a 'sexual freedom for me, but not for thee' message," wrote Marcotte. "But that's less hypocrisy and more part of their larger ideology that separates Americans into two classes: an elite that enjoys the privilege of erotic expression and the rest of us, for whom sex is a procreative duty and not a pleasure."

Marcotte suggests the video represented a failed effort to trick feminist commentators into lambasting the former first lady's nude photos so that the Republican nominee could claim to be the candidate who better supports women's autonomy.

But there was just one problem, Marcotte argued: no one took the bait.

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"This is ham-fisted trolling, an obvious attempt to get some impulsive liberal commentator, ideally a woman, to denounce her for the nude photos," Marcotte wrote.

"It's a welcome sign that, after nine years of MAGA trolling, liberals have learned how not to fall for these manipulative tactics."

Marcotte then delves into contents of what she describes as a "weird and stupid" post and finds a subtler message she argued the family may have delivered unintentionally: that Trump considers himself royalty.

As proof, she points to the historic works of art to which Melania Trump compared her nude photos.

"The elite are permitted to express their sexuality how they wish, while the common people's sexuality is controlled through abortion bans and other restrictions on our rights," wrote Marcotte.

"This isn't experienced as hypocrisy but as the natural social order."