 "Melania Trump is unlikely to meet US First Lady Jill Biden at the White House. File Photo/Reuters")
Melania Trump is likely to snub United States First Lady Jill Biden’s invite for a meeting at the White House on Wednesday (November 13). Reports say the former first lady has declined the offer and will not join her husband, Donald Trump, to meet the Bidens.
It is customary for the outgoing President and First Lady to host the incoming president-elect and their spouse. US President Joe Biden will meet Trump at the Oval Office, a gesture symbolising that there will be a peaceful transition of power.
Let’s take a look at why Melania Trump is expected to skip the meeting with Jill Biden.
Melania Trump bucks the tradition
Melania Trump has reportedly turned down Jill Biden’s invitation for a meeting at the White House. The two have not spoken yet after Trump defeated Democrat leader and Vice President Kamala Harris last week in the US presidential elections.
A source told DailyMail.com, “Mrs Trump is not going, and they have not spoken.”
Jill had extended the customary invitation to Melania. “The Bidens extended congratulations and a joint invite to the Trumps to meet at the White House,” the first lady’s office said earlier.
However, the former model is not in the mood to accept the offer. While some reports say it is due to her conflicting schedule, others cite her frustration with the Bidens.
As per a CNN report, Melania is busy with her newly released memoir and is not expected to attend the meeting with Jill. Another source told the American broadcaster that no final decision has been taken yet.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThere was a discussion about persuading Melania to go to Washington for the meeting, as some members of Trump ’s team believed it was important, reported CNN.
According to New York Post, Melania has declined the offer as she is upset with the Bidens over the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s Palm Beach residence, Mar-a-Lago , as part of the federal government’s probe into mishandling of classified documents.
“She ain’t going,” a source familiar with Melania’s decision told NY Post. “Jill Biden’s husband authorised the FBI snooping through her underwear drawer. The Bidens are disgusting,” the source said.
“Jill Biden isn’t someone Melania needs to meet,” the source added.
The former first lady has previously condemned the raid at the Florida mansion in August 2022. The FBI had searched Melania’s wardrobe, her husband’s office and one of the rooms of their son, Barron Trump, as per NY Post.
“Yeah, it made me angry,” she recalled in an interview on Fox and Friends in September interview, labelling it an “invasion of privacy.”
“I saw unpleasant stuff that nobody wants to see,” Melania said of her ransacked residence. “And you get angry because, you know, nobody should be putting up with that kind of stuff.”
Melania’s absence comes even as her husband will sit with President Biden. The meeting is scheduled for 11 am EST (9.30 pm IST) on Wednesday, according to the White House.
What happened in 2020?
It is a tradition for the first lady to host her successor for tea and a tour of the White House.
“In modern history, there has always been an invitation, this goes back to at least Bess Truman and Mamie Eisenhower (in 1952),” Kate Andersen Brower, author of First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies, told USA Today in 2021.
However, Melania Trump had ditched the tradition.
Her husband had contested the 2020 US presidential elections, repeatedly and falsely claiming he was the true winner. The Trumps did not host the Bidens at the White House at the time, breaking the tradition.
The Trumps had also skipped Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremony in January 2021. However, the Bidens will be present at the Republican leader’s inauguration in January next year, as per the White House.
The last time the outgoing first lady followed the tradition of meeting the incoming first lady at the White House was in 2016. The then-first lady Michelle Obama had hosted Melania for tea in the White House’s Yellow Oval Room. She had also given her a tour of the private residence.
A part-time first lady?
There are reports that Melania Trump could be a part-time first lady . Last time, she had carried out some first-lady traditions but reportedly did not enjoy her time at the White House when her husband was the president from 2017 to 2021.
Her decision to skip the meeting with Jill Biden signals she will have more say around the second time.
With inputs from agencies