Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘Business as usual’: Melania Trump ‘not cooperating with incoming first lady Jill Biden on transition’

FLOTUS is yet to reach out to Jill Biden, a source told CNN

Matt Mathers
Wednesday 11 November 2020 16:41 GMT
Comments
Melania Trump's best moments
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Outgoing first lady Melania Trump is reportedly refusing to cooperate with her replacement, Jill Biden.

A source says Ms Trump has yet to contact the incoming first lady about transition planning following Joe Biden's election victory.

It comes as president Trump refuses to accept defeat in a race that he has so far lost by some 5 million ballots and 76 electoral college votes.

That's according to Associated Press's latest projections, with just two states left to declare while the popular vote count remains ongoing.

"It's my understanding that it's business as usual in the East Wing," the source told CNN late on Tuesday night.

"I'm not sure it's fair for anyone to expect them to start transitioning when the president has not yet conceded," the source added.

The Independent has contacted the first lady's representatives for comment.

The first lady has backed her husband’s claims of voter fraud and recently broke her silence on the issue, saying the American people “deserve fair elections”.

Mr Trump's attempts to hang on to power have become increasingly desperate in recent days while GOP lawmakers, it is said, privately accept the result.

On Tuesday, the commander-in-chief launched into a furious tirade on his favourite network, Fox News.

He accused the Rupert Murdoch-owned network of "tampering" and  "interfering" in the election by issuing poll projections that showed him behind in the key battleground state of Wisconsin.

Mr Trump eventually lost the key battleground state, but that did not stop him from lashing out at Fox and other polling companies and news outlets that issued similar forecasts.

The outgoing president continues to pedal so far baseless claims of voter fraud as the reason why he lost the election.

Despite frantically working the phones on a 'voter fraud hotline', his campaign team is yet to present any evidence of ballot irregularity.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in