Melania Trump Accused Of Breaking Tradition By Not Inviting Incoming First Lady Jill Biden To White House
Melania Trump is coming under fire for her silence and inaction through the final days of her husband’s presidency, breaking tradition by failing to invite incoming first lady Jill Biden to the White House and reportedly not attending Joe Biden’s inauguration next week.
As CNN reported, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to announce that they would not be attending the swearing-in ceremony for his successor, which had long been a tradition for outgoing presidents. The report added that Melania Trump did not know until this tweet was published that she would not be attending, either.
The report noted that Melania Trump has also been criticized for her relative silence during the attack on the U.S. Capitol, releasing a statement five days later that expressed disappointment but also cast herself as a victim of gossip.
Kate Andersen Brower, author of First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies, told CNN that the first lady is intentional in her refusal to honor longtime traditions of behavior.
“There’s never been any first lady as stubborn and defiant as Melania Trump,” Brower said. “I think she’s digging in. I think she has channeled her husband’s fury and is obviously not interested in playing the traditional role of a first lady who, in times of crisis, seeks to unite and soothe the country.”
While many have speculated that Melania Trump may not align with her husband in his more controversial stances — including his insistence that he really won the presidential election and his unfounded claims of voter fraud — Brower said this is not the case.
“She understands her husband and what he stands for, and it simply does not bother her,” she said. “She is not a victim and she will not leave the White House apologizing for her husband’s behavior.”
She was slow in even moving to Washington, spending several months at the couple’s home in Manhattan after the president moved there following his inauguration. She finally did join him in the nation’s capital after their son’s school year ended.
Donald Trump has broken a number of traditions during his presidency and now in his transition out of office as well. He never officially conceded or congratulated Biden on his victory, rather blaming the left for having perpetrated the fraud and stolen the election from him. The president has not invited Biden for a White House visit, which Barack Obama did for him in the days after the 2016 election.
