Melania Trump didn’t join her husband, President-elect Donald Trump, at the White House on Wednesday for his meeting with President Joe Biden and rejected an invitation from first lady Jill Biden. In fact, it seems she won’t be returning to the White House anytime soon—if at all.

“Mrs. Trump will not be attending today’s meeting at the White House,” said a post on X from the Office of Melania Trump. “Her husband’s return to the Oval Office to commence the transition process is encouraging, and she wishes him great success.”

CNN is reporting that after her husband is inaugurated in January, she’s likely to split her time between New York City and Palm Beach, Florida, instead of moving back to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C. 

“This time is different,” a source told CNN, suggesting that Melania’s priorities—and possibly her ties to Washington—have changed.

The former first lady who once championed the “Be Best” campaign to advocate for children’s well-being has been notably absent from the public eye since her husband’s return to the political stage. 

Melania was more focused on promoting her memoir than stumping on the campaign trail this year. CNN reports that although she’s “not to be publicly involved” in the next administration, she is “still a constant voice in her husband’s ear, giving him advice.”

Her first term in the White House had some controversial moments, including her infamous disparaging of her role as the White House’s official Christmas decorator. CNN obtained secretly recorded audio of a phone conversation between Melania and Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former friend and adviser. 

“I’m working … my ass off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f-ck about the Christmas stuff and decorations?” Melania whined. “But I need to do it, right?” She also said, “‘Oh, what about the children that they were separated?’ Give me a f-cking break”—a heartless reference to the children who were separated from their families in migrant detention centers thanks to her husband’s draconian immigration policies.

The former first lady also drew outrage when she wore a jacket with the statement, “I really don’t care. Do U?” emblazoned on the back during a visit to a child immigrant detention camp in McAllen, Texas.

Melania’s former press secretary Stephanie Grisham alleged that the then-president came up with the idea to say the message on the jacket was meant for the press.

Since then, Melania wrote in her memoir that the Trump administration’s policy of separating families at the border and putting children in unsanitary detention centers was “simply unacceptable.” She reportedly told her husband, “This has to stop.” 

Fast-forward to the present, and Melania’s role in her husband's political comeback seems muted compared to her visible presence in 2016. Instead of joining Trump during his campaign, she promoted her personal projects including her book, “Melania,” pushed conspiracies about Trump’s assassination attempt, and vaguely voiced her support for a woman’s right to choose. 

Republished with permission from Daily Kos.