As "America's Queen" Melania Meme Spreads, Newsom Responds as "America's King"

Vanity Fair Drops Melania Trump Cover After Internal Backlash
Fake Covers and Memes Flood the Internet
"America's Queen" Headline Spurs Satirical Responses

After reports emerged that the American entertainment and fashion monthly magazine Vanity Fair had considered featuring Melania Trump, the wife of U.S. President Donald Trump, as its cover model but withdrew the plan due to internal backlash, a wave of satirical memes has followed.

The cover of the American entertainment and fashion monthly magazine Vanity Fair, created through artificial intelligence (AI). It features Melania Trump (left) and Gavin Newsom, Governor of California, as the main subjects. Screenshot from X (formerly Twitter)

On August 29 (local time), major U.S. media outlets reported that Mark Guiducci, who became the global editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair in June, recently considered featuring Melania Trump as the cover model for the September issue. However, the plan was withdrawn due to opposition from staff members. This information was first revealed to the public by the internet media outlet Semafor in an exclusive report on August 24.

Upon hearing the news, Melania Trump supporters created a fake Vanity Fair cover featuring Melania wearing a crown. The image is believed to have been generated by artificial intelligence (AI). As conservative figures supporting Trump circulated the fake cover, the photo of Melania with a crown quickly became an internet meme.

The cover included the large headline "America's Queen" and subheadings such as "The Quiet Revolution of Melania Trump" and "Inside the Private World of America's Most Enigmatic First Lady."

An illustration in the style of a Time magazine cover posted by the White House. Screenshot from the White House Instagram.

The White House also produced an illustration in the style of a Time magazine cover, showing President Trump wearing a crown with the phrase "Long Live the King." This image was posted to the official White House Instagram account on February 19, about one month after President Trump began his second term.

As this meme spread, the press office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, posted a satirical version of the cover on its official account. This version featured Governor Newsom wearing a crown, with the large headline "America's King," and subheadings such as "The Vocal Revolution of Gavin Newsom" and "Inside the Private World of America's Most Enigmatic Governor."

Throughout this summer, Governor Newsom has frequently posted satirical comments and photos mocking President Trump's social media posts. He has also released products parodying Trump's "MAGA" (Make America Great Again) campaign, such as red baseball caps and t-shirts with slogans like "Newsom Was Right About Everything."

Due to Governor Newsom's active satire, his popularity among Democrats has soared. According to an Emerson College poll released on August 29, 25% of Democrats said they would support Governor Newsom in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary-the highest among Democratic politicians and more than double the figure from the same institution's poll two months prior.

Meanwhile, the actual cover model for the September issue of Vanity Fair was actress Jennifer Aniston.