How Melania Trump Once Got Totally Humbled By George W. Bush

It isn't uncommon for Melania Trump to disappear from public view for weeks at a time. The first lady ghosted so many campaign events in the 2024 election cycle that people were flying planes with skywriting asking, "Where's Melania?" What is less common, however, is for someone to decline an invitation from the first lady. Even more surprising is that the lack of an RSVP came from George W. Bush for an event honoring his mother.

Barbara Bush was given her own postage stamp in May 2025, and the design of the stamp was set to be revealed at a White House event hosted by Melania. While some members of the Bush family did attend, the former president was a no-show. Making it worse, W. didn't even bother to come up with an excuse. The snub had to hurt, especially considering how close W. is with a different first lady, Michelle Obama.

Since leaving office, the 43rd President of the United States has mainly kept to himself, even turning down an invitation to be on his own daughter's show (Jenna Bush Hager is a "Today" co-host). While W. Bush has mostly avoided the spotlight since leaving the White House, he has shown up from time to time. Most notably, he appeared in a 2021 video with fellow former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to congratulate Joe Biden on winning the election and call on all Americans to come together under new leadership. His appearance in the video made something clear, and it may have been the same reason he didn't accept Melania Trump's invite: George W. Bush does not like Donald Trump.

The feud between the Bushes and the Trumps goes back to 2016 when Jeb Bush, the younger brother of George W. Bush, went up against Donald Trump in the GOP primary. Trump didn't hold back on his attacks on Jeb, his brother, or his father. Trump even pulled in Barbara Bush, using a clip of her on the "Today" show saying, "We've had enough Bushes." Throughout the primary and the election – and even after being elected – Trump consistently attacked the presidency of W. Bush.

In return, the former president has spoken out against Trump both privately and in public. Following Trump's speech at his 2017 inauguration, according to New York Magazine, he was heard saying, "That was some weird s***." A year into Trump's first term, W. Bush, who ended his time as president with a historically low approval rating, reportedly joked about Trump (via X, formerly Twitter): "Sorta makes me look pretty good, doesn't it?" In July 2018, Trump went after W. during a rally by referencing his "thousand points of light" phrase, saying (per USA Today), "I know one thing: Make America Great Again, we understand. Putting America first, we understand. Thousand points of light, I never quite got that one."

In May 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming election, W. released a video pleading Americans to work together and saying, "We are not partisan combatants." Trump saw this as a personal attack and took to X to complain that W. did not defend him during his first impeachment. The feud continued into Trump's second term, with W. writing an essay about George Washington that was seen as a rebuke of Trump. So, with all that negative history, it's no wonder he snubbed Trump's wife.