For the first time in eight years, the U.S. is witnessing a peaceful transfer of power, between President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump.
The Democrat and the Republican met yesterday in the White House to begin the transition process following the latter's electoral win last week, a stark contrast from when he refused to concede in 2020 and subsequently incited a violent insurrection on the capitol, which left several dead.
However, though the two were pictured in good spirits having their meeting, and later posed for a photo with Dr. Jill Biden, there is one person who refused to participate, former and future First Lady Melania Trump.
Breaking from a decades-old tradition, Mrs. Trump was not in attendance at the White House meeting on Wednesday, and detailed her decision in a rare, somewhat accusatory statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Mrs. Trump will not be attending today's meeting at the White House. Her husband's return to the Oval Office to commence the transition process is encouraging, and she wishes him great success," the statement first read.
It then claimed: "In this instance, several unnamed sources in the media continue to provide false, misleading, and inaccurate information. Be discerning with your source of news."
Per Axios, Dr. Biden did give a letter to Trump to give to his wife.
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Throughout Trump's two-year reelection campaign, his wife's frequent absences have been repeatedly noticed and reported on, and her increasingly rare appearances by his side in comparison to when he first ran for president almost ten years ago, and during his tempestuous four years as president.
Now, despite her husband's win, it does not appear her distance from the White House will change anytime soon, moreover whether D.C. will be her primary residence is also in doubt.
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Axios further reported that Mrs. Trump, who has shied away from commenting much on her returning role as first lady, might instead live between her home bases of Palm Beach and New York City, where her son Barron Trump goes to college, at NYU, and will visit the White House "only for ceremonial undertakings like state dinners or special events."
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Ahead of the election, she did say on Fox & Friends: "I'm not anxious because this time is different," noting: "I have much more experience, much more knowledge."
She added: "I was in the White House before. So when you go in, you know exactly what to expect. You know what kind of people you need to get. You need to have people that are on your team, that they have the same vision as me and to serve me because they serve the country."