Melania Trump met the press (sort of). Eleanor Roosevelt started the tradition for first ladies.

Carrying a tin box of candied oranges, Eleanor Roosevelt walked toward the White House Red Room to greet the group of 35 journalists, all female.

The women, dressed as if they were attending an afternoon tea, sat down, some on chairs and some on the floor. A nervous Roosevelt, who didn’t know many of the women, passed around the candied oranges to break the ice.

Watching from the doorway was a group of male White House reporters, unhappy that such an event was taking place, displeased that they were excluded, and laughing at the group of “docile news hens” sitting at Roosevelt’s feet.