Melania Trump's Latest Bailed Appearance Sets Tone For The Next Four Years (As We Expected)

In October 2024, Melania Trump had a telling non-answer when asked if she wanted to be first lady again. But now it's official, Donald Trump has won the 2024 election, and she is set to be first lady again whether she likes it or not. Her latest move seems to solidify that she isn't happy about that. Jill Biden invited Melania to the White House to coincide with Donald's Oval Office visit with President Joe Biden on November 13, but Melania isn't expected to attend. It's really not a surprise considering that Melania didn't seem to like being first lady the first time around.

There were insider reports during Donald's first presidency that Melania wasn't happy having to be by his side, particularly as reports about his alleged affairs were coming out. Others have claimed that she far prefers keeping out of the spotlight, which is inherently at odds with the position of first lady. In Katie Rogers' book "American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, From Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden," Rogers claimed that Melania was distant and uninvolved in the White House.

However, Melania Trump did go to the White House in 2016 to meet with Michelle Obama, so why is she potentially skipping the one with Jill Biden? There are a few rumored reasons. One more innocuous theory is that she has a book event that wouldn't allow her to make the date; Melania released her self-titled memoir in October 2024.

Others think that Melania is still salty about the raid at Mar-a-Lago that was connected with the FBI's investigation into how Donald Trump handled classified documents after he left office. In an interview with Fox News in September 2024, Melania talked about the raid: "I saw unpleasant stuff that nobody wants to see it. And you get angry because, you know, nobody should be putting up with that kind of stuff. Some person — I don't even know who or how many people — they, you know, they went through my stuff." If she blames Jill and Joe Biden for that investigation the way that her husband does, we could see why she might still have bad blood and not want to sit down and make small talk with Jill.

Or it could just be that Melania really isn't at all interested to getting back to the duties of first lady, so she's going to ghost on Jill's invitation. It would track with what we've know about the notoriously private Melania.

People on social media quickly called out Melania Trump for not going to see Jill Biden. One person posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), "She's so unbelievably rude and unprofessional." One person joked, "Gotta imagine Jill let out a full-blown *PFEW!!* when Melania declined the invite."

Some thought that the reported decision had more to do with Melania's relationship with Donald Trump than it had to do with Jill. One person wrote: "She can just not accept the duties of First Lady. She can stay in New York." Melania moved back to New York after Barron Trump started at NYU in the fall of 2024. Another said, "Appearing at the WH with DT kinda says she's the First Lady ... a role she might have no intention of filling. She may be planning on divorce right after inauguration. I wouldn't be surprised."

The meeting between the outgoing president and first lady and the incoming president and their spouse has been a long-standing tradition, and it's a symbolic part of the peaceful transfer of power. So for Melania to skip it, that seems pretty telling. It also goes to show the character of Jill and Joe for extending the invitation after they didn't get the same treatment from Melania and Donald back in 2020.