First lady Jill Biden said incoming first lady Melania Trump declined her invitation for tea, according to a new report in The Washington Post.
Jill Biden reportedly extended the invitation to have tea at the White House, as is customary for incoming and outgoing first ladies during the presidential transition.
But Melania Trump declined, according to the Post, which published a lengthy profile of the outgoing first lady on Wednesday.
Jill Biden noted in the interview conducted on Jan. 5, that she followed up with Melania Trump in a note, which she passed along to President-elect Trump when they saw each other at the reopening of the Notre Dame in December.
“I congratulated her and I offered help,” Jill Biden said of the note, according to the Post.
Jill Biden did not hear back from the incoming first lady until they spoke briefly at the late President Carter’s state funeral last week when Melania Trump thanked the first lady.
The Hill reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.
The customary White House tea is not the only tradition first ladies are skipping during this transition.
Former first lady Michelle Obama will not be attending Trump’s inauguration next week. She also skipped Carter’s state funeral, which would have had her seated next to the incoming president, citing a “scheduling conflict.”
At the state funeral, former second lady Karen Pence garnered some attention when she stayed seated when Trump approached the nearby vicinity. Her husband, former Vice President Mike Pence, shook the incoming president’s hand.
