Jill Biden exposes what happened during awkward ride with Melania Trump who dodged question about Barron
Topics: Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Joe Biden, Politics, Books
Thomas Bamford
Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Joe Biden, Politics, Books
Jill Biden has lifted the lid on an awkward car ride with Melania Trump on Inauguration Day 2025, and it sounds like the journey was every bit as frosty as the temperatures outside.
In her new memoir, A View from the East Wing, published this week, the former first lady detailed the limo ride from the White House to the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol on January 20, describing it as one of the very few times the two women had ever spent meaningful time together.
Prior encounters had been limited to brief interactions at the funerals of former first lady Rosalyn Carter in 2023 and former President Jimmy Carter just days before Donald Trump's second inauguration, hardly the foundation for easy small talk.
"The presidents' car was likely frosty too, but at least they'd spent considerable time in each other's company," Jill wrote. "This would be one of few interactions Melania and I had ever had."
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Joining the two first ladies in the vehicle was John Bessler, husband of Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who chaired the 2025 inaugural committee.
Jill noted wryly that Bessler "must have drawn the shortest of all possible straws" when he was assigned to ride with them, tasked with attempting to ease the tension between the two women.
When Bessler asked Melania where Barron was attending college, she gave a one-word answer: "NYU." She added that he had his own floor in Trump Tower, was escorted to and from class by Secret Service, and hadn't made many friends yet at the college he began attending the previous fall.
Beyond that, Jill claimed, Melania repeatedly tried to redirect the conversation to the weather.
Temperatures in Washington were below freezing that day, and Jill said she attempted to play along, expressing sympathy for the military dogs she spotted along the route in the cold.
When Bessler asked whether the Trumps had a dog, Melania said they didn't, adding that she had asked Barron several times but he had said no.
The one moment of genuine warmth came when Jill asked after Melania's father following the recent death of her mother.
Melania said he was doing okay and was with them, before adding: "But you know, it's only been a year."
Jill said she felt sympathy for Melania, attributing some of the perceived animosity to the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago in 2022 in connection with the investigation into Donald Trump's handling of classified documents.
"Melania blamed Joe personally for the FBI searching through her private spaces at Mar-a-Lago," Jill wrote, adding: "I have compassion for her, having been subject to the same kind of search. I knew how distressing it was to have agents rummage through your underwear drawer."
The strained dynamic between the two women is longstanding. Melania declined to invite Jill for a White House transition conversation after Trump lost the 2020 election, and when Trump won again in 2024, she declined Jill's invitation to a transition meeting at the White House, even as Donald made the trip himself.
Jill reportedly sent a handwritten letter home with him, addressed to Melania instead.
Melania Trump has been approached for comment