For the past century, it has been a tradition for the incoming first lady to meet with the sitting first lady for tea and conversation at the White House while the incoming president meets with the sitting president to discuss the transition between administrations.

Reports indicate that former and future first lady Melania Trump rejected an invitation from first lady Jill Biden to keep with that traditional pleasantry on Wednesday, according to USA Today.

Trump took part in the tradition in 2016 when then-first lady Michelle Obama hosted her but did not carry it forward in 2020 with Biden, largely because the transition period was delayed and marred by the ongoing challenges of the disputed election results at that time.

Why did Melania decline Jill's invitation?

The Independent reported that there are differing reasons why former and future first lady Trump declined to accept the invitation for tea at the White House on Wednesday with first lady Biden, with some sources saying there was a scheduling conflict with Trump's obligations to promote her best-selling self-titled memoir.

There were rumors that the Trump transition team tried to convince Melania to meet with Jill, and as late as Tuesday there was still some hope for a reconsideration of the decision not to go to the White House. Yet, at the same time, the Daily Mail reported that a source close to Trump confirmed that she was "not going" and that she had "not spoken" with Biden.

A different story was told to the New York Post by another unnamed source, however, who said Melania declined to accept Jill's invitation because of resentment she still harbored over the FBI's 2022 raid of the Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida in search of classified documents.

"She ain’t going. Jill Biden’s husband authorized the FBI snooping through her underwear drawer," the source said, and added, "The Bidens are disgusting. Jill Biden isn’t someone Melania needs to meet."

Trump previously opened up in a Fox News interview about how "angry" she was about the raid and the "invasion of privacy" it entailed as agents rifled through the belongings of her and her son Barron. "I saw unpleasant stuff that nobody wants to see," she said of the politicized and unnecessary violation of her private residence. "And you get angry because, you know, nobody should be putting up with that kind of stuff."

Two presidents meet to discuss transition

As for President-elect Trump, he was similarly invited to the White House by President Biden but, unlike his wife, he accepted the offer and joined his former rival in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

According to a White House transcript of the cordial meeting, Biden offered his "congratulations" to Trump on his victory and said he was "looking forward to having a, like we said, smooth transition -- do everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated, what you need. And we’re going to get a chance to talk about some of that today."

Trump thanked Biden for his gracious hospitality and replied that "politics is tough. And it’s, in many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today. And I appreciate it very much -- a transition that’s so smooth it’ll be as smooth as it can get. And I very much appreciate that, Joe."

WATCH: President Donald J. Trump and President Biden meet in the Oval Office pic.twitter.com/ZD9xPt4nyo

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 13, 2024

Trump says he had a "really good meeting" with Biden

According to an exclusive separate report from the New York Post, Trump revealed afterward that he and Biden "both really enjoyed seeing each other" and had a "really good meeting" during which they "got to know each other again," as well as that there was a "very good relationship" between his transition team and Biden's White House.

He said they also discussed the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and explained, "I wanted -- I asked for his views and he gave them to me. Also, we talked very much about the Middle East, likewise. I wanted to know his views on where we are and what he thinks. And he gave them to me, he was very gracious."