Ashley Biden says first lady Melania Trump hasn't reached out to Jill Biden: 'I think we're all OK with it'
Sitting president Donald Trump already announced that he will not be attending Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration on Wednesday. But the president-elect’s 39-year-old daughter, Ashley Biden, revealed that that’s not the only tradition that will be missing during the transfer of power, explaining that Melania Trump hasn’t reached out to Jill Biden for a first lady’s tea and tour at the White House.
“I don’t think they’re doing the traditional protocol, which is unfortunate,” the daughter and only child of Joe and Jill told Jenna Bush Hager on TODAY, “but I think we’re all okay with it.”
The inauguration was set to be anything but ordinary after pro-Trump rioters stormed the United States Capitol just two weeks prior to the event taking place at that very same venue.
“I was deeply saddened,” Ashley said of the insurrection. “This was a place I grew up going as a child, as you [Bush Hager] did, too, and a place where dad has worked for over 30 years. A sacred place, really. And to see what happened, really, to see what was going on, I mean it was truly horrifying.”
Despite the attack, Ashley isn’t worried about her father’s safety. “He has so much protection,” she said. Still, she acknowledged that her family has been through a lot in terms of the hostilities they’ve faced online.
“The cruelty and the meanness, that’s why I don’t have a social media account that’s public. Part of it is also having boundaries for myself because I believe in kindness. I believe in the humanity of all of us,” she said. “At least I know the real deal. I know the type of man my father is and the woman my mother is and the man my brother is.”
When it comes to being by her father’s side during his presidency, Ashley shared that there will also be boundaries there.
“I will not have a job with the administration,” the social worker said. “I will, however, hopefully use this platform to advocate for social justice, for mental health to be involved in community development and revitalization. I do hope to bring awareness and education to some topic subjects that are really important.”
Still, Ashley said, she and her family, including the spirit of her late half-brother Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer in 2015, will proudly be supporting the 46th president.
“I think I’m gonna take in the moment and just be fully present,” she said of the inauguration. “I know Beau-y will be there with us... He’s so proud, he’s so so proud. He’s so proud of dad.”
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