MELANIA TRUMP REFUSES TO GIVE A TOUR OF THE WHITE HOUSE TO JILL BIDEN
Together with her husband, first lady, Melania Trump, has also refused to welcome the new presidential family into the White House.
Melania has refused the incoming first lady, Jill Biden, a tour of the family wing of the White House.
"Melania Trump will become the first modern first lady not to invite the woman who will replace her to the White House, for a walk-through of the private living quarters on the second and third floors," said author Kate Andersen Brower in an op-ed for CNN.com.
This has been a tradition that continued even under tense political circumstances. Shortly after Donald Trump won the presidency, Michelle Obama gave Melania the tour. Laura Bush had Michelle Obama over twice.
The outgoing president and first lady usually invites the incoming president and first lady over for the tour and accompanying tea. However, President Trump has not extended that invitation to President-elect, Joe Biden.
The Trumps also announced that they will be absent from Biden's inauguration ceremony. They, instead, held a farewell ceremony for themselves at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, including a 21-gun salute.
This also means that the Trumps won't be hosting the Bidens for coffee either. This ritual was that the outgoing first couple typically hosts the incoming first couple at the White House before they all ride to the Capitol together for the inauguration ceremony.
Melania Trump will be visibly absent at Arlington National Cemetery too, where former first ladies, Jill Biden, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier together.
After these refusals from the outgoing couple, it is still unclear if the Trump's will join the former presidents and first ladies at the ritual events that usually command their presence.
Even though Melania Trump has not reached out to Jill Biden, it is reported that staff in the East Wing are busy preparing transition binders. This is part of a greater White House transition effort for the incoming Biden administration.
In her time as America's first lady, most of Melania's work was subject to criticism. One of the most recent criticism was when she posted on social media about the pavilion, which was being redone while the country battled the COVID epidemic and the economy was tanking. Online critics compared the first lady to Maria Antoinette.
But Melania defended that work, claiming "The economic impact of the pandemic, which has been felt by so many in this country, has profoundly shaped our shared experience of American life. As a result, it was with a great sensitivity to the wider national backdrop that I unveiled two long-planned projects on the White House grounds," referring to the pavilion and the installation of the "Floor Frame" sculpture by Isamu Noguchi in the newly restored Rose Garden.
As Melania is busy stepping out of her role, she hinted she left work to be finished by Jill Biden. "The restoration and conservation of the priceless Zuber wallpaper in the Family Dining Room, perhaps the most ambitious project of the Administration, remains to be completed, and will be, I hope, admired by all who see its beauty."
Melania then continued saying; "As this chapter comes to a close, it is important to acknowledge the many people and departments without whom my role as first lady would not have been possible. Both the White House Office of the Curator and the White House Historical Association have worked tirelessly to ensure these projects met their standards of preservation, conservation, and scholarly excellence. I am grateful for those who in a private capacity have so generously donated to my initiatives and to the collection as a whole."
Even though Melania has largely stayed quiet during Donald Trump's attempts to illegally reverse the election results, she did however echoed the president's misleading language of "counting legal votes". She also has not publicly acknowledged Joe Biden's victory.
In her latest message, Melania revealed that "it has been the honour of my lifetime to serve as your first lady'.