Former First Lady Jill Biden and current First lady Melania Trump didn’t do the traditional “first lady tea,” to pass the torch to one another, according to Biden’s new memoir, “View from the East Wing”.
Jill’s book came out this week, and she’s been giving interviews about former President Joe Biden’s term in the White House and what’s come after. Biden’s tenure was sandwiched between President Donald Trump’s two terms, so Jill, a longtime educator, and Melania, a former model, had two chances to have the meeting.
Kate Andersen Brower, author of “First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies” explained that sitting first ladies typically welcome the incoming first lady with a tour of the White House. However, she noted those meetings were tense in many cases, as recounted by The Washington Post.
A piece published by Vanity Fair this week citing “View from the East Wing” said that Jill claimed Melania did not invite her for the traditional tea in 2021, after Biden won the 2020 presidential election against Trump. CNN reported that in 2016, former First Lady Michelle Obama had Melania over for a sit-down tea at the White House.
After Trump won the 2024 election against former Vice President Kamala Harris (Biden dropped out of the race that summer), Jill invited Melania over for tea. However, she wrote that the invitation was declined, according to Vanity Fair.
They would eventually see each other at the funerals for former First Lady Rosalyn Carter and former President Jimmy Carter, Jill said. Rosalyn’s was at the end of 2024 and Jimmy’s was in January 2025.
Trump was the subject of an assassination attempt while on the campaign trail in summer 2024, and Jill said she also reached out to Melania following the incident.
“The dramatic image of the once and future president with blood on his face, making a fist, was everywhere,” Jill said “I called Melania and said that I was thinking of her and Barron. She was polite and controlled as ever. She said they were ‘good,’ and thanked me for calling.”
Jill and Melania also had an awkward limo ride together in January 2025 to Trump’s second inauguration. She said that John Bessler, the husband of U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) husband, was their escort during the ride – Jill joked that she believed he pulled “the shortest of all possible straws” to land the assignment.
During the ride, Melania kept trying to keep the conversation focused on the weather. Jill said that the 2022 raid of Mar-a-Lago while Biden was president might have been the reason for Melania’s frosty attitude.
“I asked Melania about her father, because her mother had recently died. She said he was doing okay, and he was there with them, then said, ‘But you know, it’s only been a year.’ I tried to get with Melania’s weather-only program. I said I felt bad for the military dogs we passed along the route because of the cold,” Jill said.
Another revelation from Jill’s book and recent media appearances include the admission that she was concerned her husband had suffered a stroke during his lackluster debate appearance against Trump in 2024. She also told Morning Joe this week that she believes Biden, who is now battling prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, would have won the 2024 election if he had stayed in the race.
