Jill Biden has opened up about a notably tense limousine ride with Melania Trump on Inauguration Day 2025, recalling a trip that felt as chilly as the weather in Washington.
In her newly released memoir, A View from the East Wing, published this week, the former first lady recounts traveling from the White House to the Capitol for the January 20 swearing-in ceremony — an occasion she says was one of the rare moments she and Melania spent any significant time together.
According to Jill, their previous contact had largely amounted to brief exchanges at solemn public events, including the funeral of former first lady Rosalyn Carter in 2023 and former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral shortly before Donald Trump began his second term — not exactly settings that lend themselves to relaxed conversation.
“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.”
Also in the car was John Bessler, the husband of Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who served as chair of the 2025 inaugural committee.
Jill wrote that Bessler appeared to be the unfortunate pick for the seating arrangement, joking that he “must have drawn the shortest of all possible straws” as he tried to keep conversation moving between the two women.
When he asked Melania where Barron was studying, Jill said Melania responded with a single word: “NYU.” Melania then shared that Barron had his own floor in Trump Tower, traveled to and from classes with Secret Service protection, and hadn’t yet developed many friendships since starting the previous fall.
After that, Jill claimed, Melania repeatedly steered the conversation back toward the day’s bitter cold.
With Washington below freezing, Jill said she attempted to keep things light by remarking on the military dogs she saw outside and expressing concern for them being out in the elements.
When Bessler asked whether the Trumps had a dog, Melania said they didn’t, adding that she’d raised the idea with Barron more than once but he had always declined.
Jill described one exchange as notably more personal, writing that she asked Melania how her father was coping after the recent death of Melania’s mother.
Melania responded that he was doing okay and was with them, before adding: “But you know, it’s only been a year.”
Jill said the moment left her feeling sympathy, and she suggested some of the coldness between them may have been tied to the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago in 2022, part of 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 memoir also revisits the longer-running strain between them. Melania did not invite Jill to a transition conversation after Trump lost the 2020 election, Jill wrote, and when Trump returned to office after winning in 2024, Melania declined Jill’s invitation to meet at the White House for a transition discussion — even though Donald Trump did go.
Jill reportedly sent a handwritten letter back with him, addressed to Melania.
Melania Trump has been approached for comment