Donald Trump and Melania Trump can call the White House house home as of January next year. After winning the election last week, the former and future President and First Lady of the United States will make a triumphant return for a second term, taking over from Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. By all accounts the four have quite a history, and things has been testy when it comes to Melania and Jill.
It’s well-known that Donald Trump isn’t a big fan of President Joe Biden. The President-Elect has lashed out against his former presidential opponent many times, and the FBI conducting a raid of Mar-a-Lago in 2022 appeared to be the last straw.
Melania Trump has previously commented on the raid on their home, saying that it was an “invasion of privacy.” Yet with Trump now to move into the White House again, the traditional meeting between the president and president-elect means he and Melania are expected to spend at least some time with Joe and Jill Biden.
Which is what makes recent reports suggesting that Melania will flat out refuse to accept Jill Biden’s invitation all the more intriguing.
Melania Trump has barely been seen during her husband’s most recent presidential campaign. The former model instead focused on supporting her and Donald’s son, Barron, as he finished high school, and shifted between living in New York and at the couple’s Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida.
Earlier in 2024, Melania appeared at several private events, including the Log Cabin Republicans fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago in September, for which she reportedly was paid more than $230,000.
When it came to her husband’s presidential campaign, she kept herself out of the spotlight. However, the former and now future First Lady of the United States returned to his side as the presidential election edged closer.
Melania Trump – where was she during the presidential campaign?
In late October, just over a week before Election Day, Melania appeared during a Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Wearing a zebra-print dress, she gave a speech celebrating the city, ending by introducing her husband, Donald Trump, to the crowd of 20,000 people.
“Our hometown, where architectural symbols of strength, courage and unity, create a canvas for the world’s undisputed capital of industry,” Melania said. “Where titans of finance, fashion and entertainment convene among an iconic range of superior design, structures and artistic accomplishments.”
The Slovenian-born went on to say that New York has been “unforgiving” and that the quality of life has “declined.”
“New York City and America needs their magic back,” Melania said, describing her husband as the “next commander-in-chief” who could restore the city to its former glory.
When Election Day arrived, Melania was by her husband’s side. The two voted at the Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach, Florida. She wore sunglasses all day, prompting social media users to question whether it really was Melania or a body double.
When Medias Touch editor Ron Filipkowski shared a clip of Melania, stating that she had “been wearing sunglasses inside all day today,” the conspiracy theories began spreading.
Melania became center of ‘body double conspiracy’ on Election Day
Some claimed she had been swapped with a body double for the cameras. “This is absolutely, categorically not Melania,” one X user wrote. “This imposter’s been wearing sunglasses indoors all day.”
A second said: ‘How is a man who walks around with a fake wife even a contender for president?’ Another X user claimed: “The check didn’t clear in time for the real Melania to make an appearance, so they had to bring the doppelganger off the bench.”
As reported by the Daily Beast, another user stated that several details ‘proved’ it was a “fake Melania.”
“Rings missing, wrong nail style & length, no smile lines in the jawline [or] lower cheek, bust is half the size it should be,” one stated, while another said that the woman in the video looked “20 years younger” than Melania.
It should be said that there has not come any proof that a body double appeared next to Donald Trump on Election Day. Rather, the evidence all suggests that it was the real Melania.
On the day her husband was elected president for a second term, Melania wore a chic Christian Dior black-and-white polka dot dress. Body language expert Judi James told the Mirror that Melania’s election day look differed significantly from her past styles.
“By Melania’s normal standards this is a very subdued, down-played look as she accompanies her rather low-energy-looking husband with his slumped shoulders and face partly-covered by a baseball cap to cast their votes,” James told the Mirror. “Her smile seems almost compensatory here as Trump’s facial expression is rather solemn and he graciously and gallantly motions for her to walk in first.”
Melania showed “no real happiness” after Donald Trump won election, expert claims
The body language expert continued: “Melania’s FLOTUS looks tended to be high-vis numbers that became increasingly tailored, high-status power-suits towards the end of their term, so this casual shirt dress with her hair softly flowing to the side has no echoes of that previous stint. The Trump’s mood here might have been self-described as ‘confident’ but that sentiment is not reflected in their body language in these photos.”
And Judi James was not the only one to comment on Melania’s behavior on Election Day. Body language expert Darren Stanton said on behalf of Spin Genie that Melania was reluctant to walk to her husband on stage, claiming there was “no closeness.”
“When Trump looks back at Melania and gestures to her to come over for a hug, she reluctantly comes forward,” Stanton said. “It’s very disjointed and awkward, and there’s no emotion from her. We don’t see any genuine smiles from Melania, it feels like a smile she has adopted for the occasion.”
The body language expert continued: “There’s not the level of emotion you’d expect given her husband has just been elected president. It’s all quite contrived, she’s just reluctant to show any emotion, there’s no real happiness or joy. There’s always an awkwardness with Melania.”
Traditionally, the current president has always invited the President-Elect for a meeting at the White House shortly after the election result is settled. However, with Donald Trump, that tradition was broken. When he lost the 2020 Presidential Election, he and Melania Trump would not invite Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, to the White House.
Melania Trump declines meeting with Jill Biden at White House, source claims
When Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States in 2020, Trump left the White House before his rival had even arrived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue after the inauguration. This year, however, Donald has accepted President Biden’s invitation and will attend a meeting at the Oval Office on Wednesday. In the case of the First Ladies, though, there seems to be more friction.
According to several news outlets, Melania Trump is expected to turn down the traditional White House meeting with First Lady Jill Biden. One source told CNN that a conflicting schedule connected to Melania’s recently released memoir is behind the decision, while another source said the decision hasn’t yet been finalized.
CNN reported that discussions have been held about encouraging Melania to attend the meeting with Jill. Meanwhile, as she is expected to have more freedom during Donald Trump’s second term, the fact that Melania won’t be there could be a hint about her second term as First Lady.
However, according to a source “familiar with Melania’s decision,” that isn’t the whole truth. The source told the NY Post, “Jill Biden’s husband authorized the FBI snooping through her underwear drawer. The Bidens are disgusting. Jill Biden isn’t someone Melania needs to meet.”
On August 8, 2022, the FBI performed a raid at Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate. It led to the search and seizure of hundreds of classified documents, ultimately leading to criminal charges against Donald Trump.
Melania Trump was furious after FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago
Last year, Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 charges for failing to return classified material. At the time, he and Melania were furious about the raid — and just before this year’s presidential election, the soon-to-be First Lady again lifted the lid on it.
Not only were offices at Mar-A-Lago raided, but also Melania’s bedroom suite and another suite used by her and Donald’s son, Barron.
At the time, Donald called the Mar-a-Lago search “unconstitutional” and “illegal.” Moreover, he falsely accused President Biden of “weaponizing” federal law enforcement to punish him. Later on, US Attorney General Merrick Garland rejected the claims as “false” and “extremely dangerous.”
Speaking with Fox in late September, Melania said that the way federal agents searched their estate was an “invasion of privacy.”
“It made me angry, yes,” she told Fox. “Invasion of privacy. And the way it was done was — I was really surprised. And you get angry, because nobody should be putting up with that kind of stuff. Some person — I don’t even know who or how many people — they went through my stuff.”
Not long ago, in a video on social media, Melania suggested that the Mar-a-Lago search “serves as a warning to all Americans, a reminder that our freedom and rights must be respected.”
Time will tell whether President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will still be at the White House in January to receive the newly inaugurated President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
