New York Post faces backlash on Twitter for Melania Trump's nude cover picture

A city tabloid caused a major stir when it published nude photographs of Melania Trump, wife of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, during her modelling days in the 1990s.

"You've never seen a potential First Lady like this," the New York Post said on its front page on Sunday below a nude photograph of Melania. The "some rarely seen and others never published" pictures were taken during a shoot in 1995 in Manhattan for a photo spread for a now-defunct French men's magazine, the paper said. ​

Today's cover: Melania Trump like you've never seen her before https://t.co/wkoDGWTF9g pic.twitter.com/V375rBTUEw

— New York Post (@nypost) July 31, 2016

Although the picture definitely caused a stir, it did not go down well with the Twitteratis who thought there was nothing wrong with the pictures as Melania was a model and was just doing her job.

Shame on u, @nypost. This adds nada 2 the political discourse. Only meant 2 shame a woman. She's a model, we get it. https://t.co/VOAyq1zJHo

— Alison Freer (@AlisonVFreer) August 1, 2016

Ugh New York Post really? 20 year old pics of Melania Trump are not news. What purpose is there but to shame her?

— Liana Kerzner (@redlianak) August 1, 2016

Every single progressive sharing nude pics of Melania Trump should immediately apologize. Shaming a (cont) https://t.co/unryE9AZ9D

— Peter Kelly (@PeterKellyBC) August 1, 2016

I'm really opposed to shaming Melania Trump for posing naked. Don't RT that cover please. She did nothing wrong 1/2

— Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) July 31, 2016

Melania Trump doesn't speak often. She is often very quiet next to her husband. I think she is great ...I would never criticize that.

— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) July 31, 2016

I'm not interested in nude photos of Melania Trump, meant to shame her, ridicule her and reduce her to an object. Not relevant. Pass.

— Rachel Sklar (@rachelsklar) July 31, 2016

There are also certain media reports which speculate that the pictures were released by the Donald Trump campaign to steer away the attention from Trump's comments against the slain Muslim US Soldier Humayun Khan's parents which drew major flak from leaders in the United States. 

The pictures, obtained exclusively by The Post, were shot by French photographer Ale de Basseville. Slovenian-born Melania was then 25 years old and known by her professional moniker Melania K. She had then recently arrived in the city after doing modeling stints in Paris and Italy.

When asked about the photos, Trump told The Post: "Melania was one of the most successful models and she did many photo shoots, including for covers and major magazines. This was a picture taken for a European magazine prior to my knowing Melania. In Europe, pictures like this are very fashionable and common".

With agency inputs