First breach of etiquette

Why Melania refused to meet with Jill Biden

Melania left her husband Donald Trump alone right at the start of his new term of office.

(Bild: AFP)

Even before the Trumps return to the White House, the first breach of etiquette occurred on Wednesday. However, not by Donald Trump, as might have been expected, but by his wife Melania. Traditionally, after a US election, the President-elect and the future First Lady are invited to the official residence, but Melania vehemently refused the appointment.

Since the 1950s, it has been a tradition for the incumbent First Lady to receive her successor for tea at the same time as the incumbents meet in the Oval Office. In this case, Jill Biden should have received Melania Trump. This is primarily a symbolic gesture to ensure a peaceful, democratic transition of power.

"The Bidens are disgusting"
 While Donald Trump had denied his successor Joe Biden this visit in 2020, he now followed tradition again and invited Trump to the event. And so did his wife: according to Jill Biden's office, a corresponding invitation had already been sent last week.

But Melania did not show up. "Jill Biden is not someone Melania needs to meet," the New York Post quoted a source close to the future First Lady. "The Bidens are disgusting," it continued. The reason for the resentment is apparently the FBI raid on Trump's residence in Mar-a-Lago, during which investigators seized hundreds of confidential documents that the former president should not have been allowed to possess.

Allowed to "rummage in underwear drawer"
 More than 300 documents - including top-secret material on nuclear weapons from another country - were seized. During the search, "Jill Biden's husband allowed the FBI to snoop through her underwear drawer", the source is quoted as saying.

The raid on her estate in August 2022 made her "furious", the former first lady said in a Fox interview at the end of September. It was an "invasion of her privacy" and she had seen "unpleasant things that nobody wants to see".

Melania apparently does not want to move into the White House
Melania apparently still has little interest in her husband's political ambitions. During Trump's first term in office, for example, she caused consternation when she took six months before moving into the White House - and even now, US media outlets are quoting circles saying that Melania has no plans to relocate there. CNN, for example, reported that it is assumed that Melania will prefer to spend her time in New York City, Palm Beach and Florida.

Jill Biden is nevertheless willing to help
In the current election campaign, Melania ultimately did more to promote her book than her husband. She had "often been the subject of public criticism and misrepresentation" and therefore wanted to "get the facts straight", she emphasized. And used the timing of the tea date for an event to promote her book.

Outgoing First Lady Jill Biden greeted Donald Trump on Wednesday and presented him with a handwritten letter of congratulations for his wife, according to the White House. She expressed her team's willingness to support the future First Lady as she returns to Pennsylvania Avenue.