Christine Drews Sieger
Jill Biden describes a tense car ride with Melania Trump during Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration.
A car ride on Donald Trump’s inauguration day in January 2025 was, according to Jill Biden, marked by silence and brief responses.
The former U.S. First Lady recounts this in her new memoir, View From the East Wing: A Memoir.
According to Jill Biden, she shared a car with Melania Trump as part of the official ceremonies surrounding the transfer of power in Washington.
Biden describes the episode as one of the few encounters she has ever had with Melania Trump, Bild reports.
Several Attempts
According to the memoir, John Bessler made several attempts to start a conversation in the car. Among other things, he asked about Barron Trump and his studies, Bild reports.
Melania Trump gave a brief answer when asked about her son’s university. Her response was simply: “NYU.”
When Bessler later asked whether the family had a dog, Melania Trump reportedly explained, according to Jill Biden, that Barron did not want a pet.
A Distant Relationship
The conversation also turned to Melania Trump’s father, Viktor, who had recently lost his wife, Bild reports.
According to Jill Biden, Melania Trump remarked that the grief was still very present following the loss of her stepmother the previous year.
In the book, Jill Biden describes the atmosphere during the car ride as tense. According to her, the distance between the two women still felt considerable.
The account provides a rare glimpse into the relationship between the two First Ladies and the personal encounters that took place behind the scenes during one of the most notable transfers of power in recent American political history.
Tensions Go Back Several Years
The relationship between the Biden and Trump families has on several occasions been marked by departures from the traditions that normally surround a presidential transition.
After the 2020 election, Donald Trump refused for months to acknowledge Joe Biden’s election victory. He also became the first outgoing president in more than 150 years not to attend his successor’s inauguration, according to CBS News.
In her new memoir, Jill Biden also writes that Melania Trump departed from several traditions that usually accompany a transfer of power, including the customary tea gathering between outgoing and incoming First Ladies, according to Vanity Fair.
Jill Biden therefore describes their relationship as distant and says they had only a few personal meetings over the years.
Sources: Bild, CBS News, Vanity Fair
