“She doesn’t have time to be sitting in a photo shoot. Her priorities as First Lady are far more important,” a source told the outlet. “These people don’t deserve her anyway. She’s way above doing Vanity Fair.”

A First Lady with her priorities straight

The rejection underscores what many admirers say makes Melania stand out from her predecessors: her focus on substance over spectacle.

“She’s been nothing but kind and works hard,” the source added. “She has her priorities straight.”

While some staffers inside Vanity Fair reportedly threatened to quit if Melania landed the cover, those close to the First Lady say she never gave the offer a second thought. For her, there are more important things to do than strike a pose, from leading her new Presidential AI Challenge for kids to continuing her advocacy on children’s online safety.

Fox News defends Melania

The story quickly caught the attention of Fox & Friends, where co-host Brian Kilmeade slammed the magazine insiders’ backlash as petty.

“You should be fired if you are not exposed,” Kilmeade said of the employee who threatened to walk out. “If you’re at Vanity Fair right now, walk around and look for a mid-level editor that sounds angry, and toss them out and send them to Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s has standards.”

Co-host Ainsley Earhardt also jumped in, pointing out the double standard. “You had Michelle Obama on Vogue several times, you had Jill Biden on Vogue several times. You had Hillary Clinton inside the magazine. No Melania after she became First Lady!”

Above the noise

For Melania, the whole episode only reinforces her reputation as someone who is graceful under fire and doesn’t need validation from glossy magazines to know her worth.

Instead, she’s carving out her own space as a First Lady focused on technology, children’s well-being, and her upcoming Amazon Prime documentary.

As one insider put it best: “She’s way above Vanity Fair. Melania has bigger things to do.