You don’t have to be a political expert to know there’s no love lost between Melania Trump and the Obamas. She has had multiple embarrassing moments with Michelle Obama that generated negative headlines, and her marriage to Donald Trump means that she is firmly opposed to the liberal and progressive policies of Barack Obama.
For all these years, we assumed that these were the only reasons that Melania has such a beef with the Obamas. However, in her recent memoir, she revealed the real reason behind the grudge, and it’s basically the last thing we expected. What started this wild political grudge, and what other ways has she clashed with the Obama family? Keep reading to find out!
The gift gaffe seen around the world
One of the most interesting things about Melania Trump’s embarrassing moments with the Obama family is that they are almost all very public. The most famous example of this actually occurred during Donald Trump’s first inauguration back in 2016. As a gesture of goodwill, Melania handed Michelle a Tiffany box when they had the customary inauguration day meeting between the incoming and outgoing president.
That sounds good on paper…who wouldn’t love a fancy gift? However, Michelle looks clearly confused while receiving the gift, and (as reported by CNN) the former FLOTUS once explained why this was so awkward in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres. “There’s all this protocol…this is like a state visit, so they tell you that you’re going to do this, they’re going to stand here,” she said. “Never before do you get this gift, so I’m sort of like OK. … What am I supposed to do with this gift?”
Soon enough, Barack Obama swooped in and “saved the day” by retrieving the Tiffany box. Everyone was polite and all, but negative headlines made it seem that Melania didn’t know how to conduct herself during such an important meeting.
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On different sides of the political aisle
Some of the reasons Melania Trump has to potentially dislike the Obamas are surprising, including the negative headlines about that awkward gift exchange. Others are more obvious, though. And the most obvious reason of all is that the Trumps and the Obamas have very different sets of politics.
Donald Trump’s own political affiliation has changed over the years…once upon a time, he was actually a Democrat! But long before Trump began planning to run for president as a Republican, he was no fan of Obama, often taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) to criticize the former Democrat president. He also helped popularize the Birther conspiracy that claimed that Barack Obama was not actually born in the United States. Considering that Melania has historically stood by her husband in solidarity, it’s reasonable to believe that she shares his dislike of Obama and his policies.
The Michelle Obama speech scandal
The other major scandal regarding Melania Trump and Michelle Obama is the most embarrassing by far. Moreover, it’s not even one that Michelle was there for! We’re talking, of course, about the plagiarism scandal regarding Melania’s 2016 speech at the Republican National Convention. The speech was stirring…one that spoke about the ideals of America and her hopes for a better future.
There was just one problem with this inspirational speech: much of it seemed plagiarized from a speech that Michelle Obama gave at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The similarities were so striking that even Melania (who hadn’t written the speech herself) took note of it in her memoir. “My initial reaction was one of disbelief, but upon closer examination, the undeniable similarities between the two speeches left me reeling.”
In retrospect, this scandal was not Melania’s fault, but it still made her look like she couldn’t come up with her own ideas and had to borrow a great speech from her political rival. This certainly embarrassed Melania, but to our surprise, this isn’t the main reason she dislikes Michelle.
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The main reason Melania Trump hates the Obamas
Even if you’re not a huge fan of Melania Trump, her memoir makes for some fascinating reading. That’s because it does more than give us insight into the life and times of a fabulous First Lady. The book also gave her a chance to clarify a few things and spill the tea in a way that only Melania can.
As reported by Business Insider, her big beef with the other family is that the Obamas took too much time helping her plan a renovation of the White House. “Despite reaching out to the Obamas’ team and requesting a convenient time for our visit, we did not receive a response for weeks,” she wrote. “When we finally received the information, it was filled with errors. This delayed the planning process, and I was only able to begin renovations after the inauguration, once we were already in the White House.”
That seems like a reasonable reason to be mad. Of course, Melania (perhaps taking a bit from her husband’s angry wit) couldn’t resist pointing out that the Obamas had a bland style and might not have been ready for her bolder approach. “While some first families are content to simply live in the historic residence, my approach was different.”