Melania Trump has accused the Obamas of trying to hijack her husband Donald Trump’s first term in the White House.
The incoming first lady made a cutting dig while saying she feels more confident of her husband’s fast-approaching second term now former President Barack Obama is not there to make things difficult.
“The first time was challenging, we didn’t have much of the information,” the incoming first lady told “Fox & Friends” of when her husband was first sworn into office in 2017.
“The information was withheld from us by the previous administration,” she said of Obama — whose wife, Michelle Obama, has turned heads by saying she will skip Trump’s second inauguration Monday.
“But this time I have everything… it’s a very different transition this time, second time around,” she continued.
“But this time I have everything,” she said of her impending return, replacing President Biden, who was Obama’s vice president when they previously took over.
Despite the tension caused by the apparent lack of communication between the administrations, the 54-year-old said she now understands “the rules” and “process” of being in the White House.
“I have the plans, I already packed, I have selected the furniture. So it’s a very different transition this time, the second time around,” she said.
“I think it will be an exciting four years. We have a lot to do to put the country back in shape,” she added.
The first lady also made clear that she is not discouraged by people underestimating her abilities — like she feels they did during her husband’s first term.
“I just feel that people didn’t accept me. Maybe they didn’t understand me the way maybe they do now. And I didn’t have much support,” she said.
“Maybe some people see me as just a wife of the president, but I’m standing on my own two feet, independent. I have my own thoughts, I have my own, ‘yes’ and ‘no,’” she continued.
Melania’s remarks come as it was revealed that former first lady Michelle Obama will not be in attendance at Trump’s second inauguration this coming Monday after skipping former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
While the former first lady’s team did not provide a reason for skipping the inauguration, Michelle Obama has been an impassioned critic of Trump, over the past eight years.
Despite coining the saying “When they go low, we go high,” Michelle Obama took swipes at Trump’s wealth, his demeanor with women and his attitude toward minorities. She also pleaded with men to back Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I am asking y’all, from the core of my being, to take our lives seriously,” she said at one rally for Harris this past fall.
Despite this, her husband sat next to Trump at Carter’s highly-publicized funeral and was spotted on camera laughing and bantering with his successor, drawing worldwide headlines.
All other former presidents and their spouses are expected to attend the Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony, including George W. and Laura Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Joe and Jill Biden.
