MEDIA/MELANIA/OBAMA FAMILY: “In her new memoir, ‘Becoming,’ former first lady Michelle Obama writes a passage explaining how her predecessor, Laura Bush, had extended her help to Obama when she was an incoming first lady, telling her that if Obama needed help, she was ‘a phone call away.’ In turn, Obama writes she did the same for Melania Trump when it was her turn to occupy the role. Trump, however, has yet to take Obama up on the offer. On Sunday [11-11-18], Obama was asked about the incident by ABC News’ Robin Roberts, ‘Has (Trump) reached out asked?’ ‘No,’ said Obama. ‘No, she hasn’t.’ Roberts did not ask if Obama had reached out to Bush during her tenure for counsel. On Monday afternoon, Stephanie Grisham, Trump’s communications director, said in a statement to CNN that the first lady was not in need of Obama’s assistance…Obama and Trump have seen each other in person three times since the election of Donald Trump as president. In November 2016, Obama invited Trump to have tea in the White House as a traditional welcoming gesture to the incoming first lady. The two women crossed paths again on Inauguration Day, notably when Trump brought a Tiffany & Co. present to the White House as a gift for the Obamas upon their departure. Obama would later joke about that moment on Ellen DeGeneres’s talk show.”
–Kate Bennett, “Michelle Obama says Melania Trump turned down her offer of help,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, November 12, 2018 8:48 pm