Melania Trump Expected To Live Only Part Time At White House

First Lady Melania Trump will only live at the White House part time according to new reports.

Melania Trump is expected to spend most of her time in Palm Beach, Florida and New York City as her son Barron attends New York University.

Despite reports claiming she will only spend part time at the White House, she is expected to continue to participate in ceremonies and other First Lady activities.

Melania Trump will be ‘part-time first lady, full-time mother’ to Barron during second term, plans to split time between homes https://t.co/xi53yX9242 pic.twitter.com/x4ND3DwMXp

— New York Post (@nypost) November 13, 2024

Melania Trump is unlikely to live in the White House full time, sources tell CNN, another sign of her willingness to buck tradition as first lady https://t.co/SJNRIkvL0J

— CNN (@CNN) November 13, 2024

Per Vanity Fair:

CNN reports that Melania is “unlikely to move to Washington full-time in her second go-around as first lady,” according to multiple sources. Instead, she is “expected to spend a majority of her time over the next four years not at the White House, but between New York City and Palm Beach, Florida.” Despite apparently wanting to spend as little time as possible at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, sources told the outlet that Melania will show up for major events and have an official platform and priorities.

While not moving to the White House full-time would be a major break with tradition, that Melania would potentially make such a move should come as little surprise. When her husband campaigned for president a third time, she was effectively absent on the campaign trail, attending only his initial announcement that he was running, the Madison Square Garden rally the weekend before Election Day, and his election night party.

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Melania Trump mocked for 'smothering' Barron, 18, as she prepares to split time between New York and DC to be 'full-time mom' https://t.co/Cipey4dXAA pic.twitter.com/02cAAiwGYH

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) November 15, 2024

Here’s what CNN reported:

Melania Trump is unlikely to move to Washington full time in her second go-round as first lady, multiple sources told CNN, once more showing signs of her willingness to buck tradition as she returns to her high-profile but unelected role on the world stage.

Discussions about how and where she’ll spend her time are ongoing, the sources said.

One of her first official decisions is to skip the traditional and symbolic meeting with outgoing first lady Jill Biden at the White House as President Joe Biden hosts the president-elect in the Oval Office on Wednesday. After Jill Biden extended the invitation, there was discussion about the incoming first lady’s attendance, with members of Donald Trump’s team making clear that it was important for her to go. Sources cited a prior scheduling conflict for Melania Trump related to her book, and the office of the incoming first lady confirmed on X Wednesday morning that she would not attend the meeting.

But the episode signals that Trump, who spent her first four years in office redefining the role, is laying an early marker – and indicating she will have even more autonomy the second time around.

“I’m not anxious because this time is different. I have much more experience and much more knowledge. I was in the White House before. When you go in, you know exactly what to expect,” Trump said in a recent friendly interview with Fox News as she promoted her eponymous memoir.