Former first lady Melania Trump didn’t attend the Wednesday meeting between President Biden and her husband, President-elect Donald Trump, at the White House.
Mrs. Trump’s office posted on X, “Her husband’s return to the Oval Office to commence the transition process is encouraging, and she wishes him great success.”
The post also criticized “several unnamed sources in the media” for providing “false, misleading and inaccurate information.”
“Be discerning with your source of news,” the post said, not explaining what the complaint involved.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump met at the White House as a show of a peaceful power transition, something the president and Vice President Kamala Harris have promised will happen.
This was Mr. Trump’s first visit to the White House since reluctantly leaving in January 2021 when he lost the 2020 election to Mr. Biden.
This time, first lady Jill Biden joined Mr. Biden in greeting Mr. Trump. She gave the president-elect a handwritten letter of congratulations for Mrs. Trump that reiterated her readiness to help with the transition, according to press pool reports.
It’s tradition for the outgoing president and first lady to welcome the newcomers. In 2016, first lady Michelle Obama hosted Mrs. Trump for tea, but the tradition was skipped in 2020 when Mr. Trump didn’t invite Mr. Biden to the White House since he was fighting what he called a rigged election. Mrs. Trump and Ms. Biden didn’t meet then either.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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