Donald Trump not welcome at the Met Gala

Trump Banned from the Met Gala for Life — Here’s Why Anna Wintour Shut the Door

Donald Trump has long been a familiar face on the Met Gala red carpet, once even using the event as the backdrop to propose to Melania. But in recent years, that glitzy chapter has closed — and it appears to be closed for good.

When the fashion elite descended upon New York City for the 2025 Met Gala on the first Monday in May, Trump’s absence wasn’t just noted — it was expected. And not by coincidence.

The reason? A years-old decision from none other than Anna Wintour herself.

“He will never be invited again,” Wintour declared bluntly during a 2017 appearance on *The Late Late Show with James Corden*, shortly after Trump took office for the first time.

That vow has held strong across both of Trump’s presidencies — and it doesn’t seem to be up for reconsideration, even as the guest list continues to evolve with shifting cultural tides.

Trump, whose roots in New York’s high society run deep, was once a Met Gala regular. He attended the lavish fundraiser throughout the 1980s and 1990s alongside then-wives Ivana Trump and later Marla Maples, often making headlines for his over-the-top flair. But perhaps the most infamous of his Met Gala moments came in 2004, when he proposed to Melania Knauss en route to the event — a spectacle that, unsurprisingly, became tabloid fodder.

American real estate magnate Donald Trump with his first wife, Ivana (nee Zelnickova) at the Costume Institute Gala, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, 9th December 1985. (Photo by Tom Gates/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

But the Met Gala has changed, and so has its unwritten guest code. Though Wintour has said that the Met Gala is about fashion, beauty, and history, in reality, the invitation list tends to reflect deeper values — and Trump’s polarizing public persona appears to have no place in it.

He’s not the only powerful figure left off the list this year. Notably absent were several other controversial billionaires and political figures, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg — all of whom have previously graced the gala’s steps.

This year’s theme, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, was a pointed celebration of Black designers and the influence of Black fashion in dismantling stereotypes and reshaping visual culture. Cultural critic Louis Piscano remarked that the theme “sends a clear message,” underscoring the gala’s deliberate shift toward inclusive storytelling and social resonance.

For Trump — a man who once mingled freely among the fashion elite — the door to the Met Gala isn’t just closed. It’s been locked for years.