Jill Biden recalled being warned to buy White House mementos before leaving office. The former first lady said items bearing the Biden name would be removed. She claimed the incoming Trump administration planned to “crush” them.
Jill Biden recalls being warned to buy White House items bearing the Biden name before leaving office
Biden recalled the unusual experience during an appearance on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s on Me podcast. She discussed her final hours inside the White House. The former first lady said someone from the State Department contacted her.
“Somebody from the State Department called me and said, ‘The last hours we’re in the White House, Jill, is there anything you want from the shelves?’” Biden recalled.
She said the official repeatedly offered her different items. “Do you want this?” Biden remembered being asked. However, Biden said there was a reason behind the sudden offer. According to the former first lady, items bearing her family’s name would not remain.
“Because anything with the name Biden on it, the day or the day after we were out of office, they took and crushed everything,” she said. Biden also revealed that the family needed to pay for the items. Jesse appeared surprised by that detail during their conversation.
“Full price?” Ferguson asked. “Yeah,” Biden replied. She said she was told the incoming administration would remove the items. “Biden, the next administration coming in, is going to crush everything on these shelves,” she explained.
Biden identified Donald Trump‘s administration as the incoming administration. Trump returned to the White House after winning the 2024 presidential election. Ferguson then asked whether the Obamas experienced something similar. Biden said she was unsure about what happened previously.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “But they warned me it was happening after ours.”
The former first lady shared the story while promoting her memoir, View From the East Wing. The book reflects on her years in the White House. It also details the family’s departure from public office.
For Biden, revisiting those final moments appeared especially emotional.
