Melania Trump
Note to the new first lady
And bye: Melanie quickly left a message for her successor on the way out of the White House
Melania Trump quickly left the White House with her husband Donald – but at least she wrote a note for her successor.
What happened?
So, roughly speaking: Melania tried to make the handover between her husband Donald Trump and his successor Joe Biden a touch more gentle than one would have expected after the heated atmosphere of the last few weeks. The fact that Donald broke all traditions didn't make it any better, of course.
What are the traditions?
So, besides accepting the results of an election that one lost? Yes, there are a number of traditions that even bitter political rivals followed after the election was decided. The outgoing president, for example, writes a friendly welcome letter for his successor.
Wow, everyone has stuck to that so far?
Yes, even the unpopular President George W. Bush found kind words for his successor, Barrack Obama. That's exactly what it's about: to leave a conciliatory signal, a touch of "we all want the best for our country, good luck". Or like George W. Bush's father, George H.W. Bush put it in his letter to his successor Bill Clinton: "Your success is now the success of our country. I keep my fingers crossed for you!"
What a nice touch!
Yes, and we all know that "nice touch" is not a part of Donald Trump's vocabulary. That's why he packed his bags and left Washington before his successor took the oath of office (here too, decency would have required him to take part in the ceremony, but … well, "decency" tends to have no entry in the Trump Lexicon). As a result, Melania had no chance to perceive a first-lady tradition.
What does the first lady usually do in such a case?
She leads her successor through the White House and gives her a grand tour of her new residence.
But that sounds old-fashioned. The men talk about the job and the women look at the household?
Old democracies have old traditions, nothing helps. It gets all the funnier when at some point a woman becomes the US President and her husband is allowed to look at "his" new household.
But there was no tour for Dr. Jill Biden?
No of course not. Instead there was a note from Melania – not much, but at least a tiny hint that at least she would have liked to respect the previous norms of the handover.