Jill Biden Says Melania Trump Repeatedly Dodged Questions About Son Barron in Awkward Car Ride

Jill Biden‘s new memoir, The View From the East Wing, gives readers a look back on her time in the White House alongside former President Joe Biden, including an awkward moment with Melania Trump.

According to an article from The Washington Post published on Tuesday, June 2, Jill, 75, and Melania, 56, were riding in the same motorcade on the day of President Donald Trump‘s second inauguration. She wrote that when fellow passenger John Bessler, the husband of Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, asked about Barron Trump‘s experience at New York University, Melania repeatedly attempted to steer the conversation elsewhere.

“Melania kept trying to switch the topic to the weather,” Jill wrote, per the outlet.

The former first lady also detailed a moment when she called Melania to check on her and Barron, 20, after the attempted assassination of the former reality star in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. Jill said that during their conversation, Melania was “polite and controlled as ever.”

Melania previously spoke about Jill’s phone call to her and told Fox News in November 2024 that she questioned the sincerity of the conversation.

“I do question, however, whether Jill’s concern was genuine as a few days prior she referred to my husband as ‘evil’ and a ‘liar,'” Melania told the outlet at the time. “It was obvious that the onslaught of rhetoric from Democrat leaders and the mainstream media was so deeply embedded in our nation’s consciousness it prompted an attempt to assassinate Donald.”

The book hints that the two women have never been particularly close. Jill claimed that Melania didn’t invite her to the traditional inaugural tea in 2021, and the former model later declined a similar invitation from Jill ahead of President Trump’s second inauguration in 2025.