Melania and Ivanka Trump, at the origin of a rivalry
Their disagreement is no longer in doubt, since the publication of a book written by a former advisor to the First Lady. But why do the President's wife and daughter hate each other so much?
Who will one day be able to unravel the Melania mystery? The most silent of the First Ladies is so unfathomable that she fascinates, often more than her husband president. Several journalists have already tried to reveal his true face. A few books on the subject have even come out. Despite this, Melania Trump remains the great enigma of the White House. Will we know more about her with the book Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady (Melania and me: grandeur and decadence of my friendship with the first lady), published on September 1 Atlantic? The author has been in close contact with the current First Lady, as Stephanie Winston Wolkoff is one of her former advisers, fired after the extravagant costs of Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony, which she herself organized, were revealed.
If there are some crisp details in this Melania and Me, it is especially the chapters chronicling the rocky relationship between the First Lady and her daughter-in-law that are tasty. If anyone still doubts it: Melania and Ivanka Trump hate each other, and don't even hide it anymore. In the halls of the White House, Donald Trump's wife wouldn't hesitate to nickname the latter's daughter "Princess" - in the most derogatory aspect of the term - or worse yet, "snake." Melania Trump would also refuse to wear any clothing of a brand that has previously been seen on Ivanka.
The revelation of this rivalry should come as no surprise, since for some time the facade smiles no longer really make an illusion. At the Republican Convention, which took place at the end of August, Donald Trump wanted to convey the image of a close-knit family. Each of its members even came to speak on the podium, in order to praise the merits of the outgoing president. But just after her speech, Ivanka walked past Melania, pointedly ignoring her, without even glancing at her. The First Lady then transformed her forced smile into an ugly grimace. The video of that moment has been around the world, picked up on social networks like a meme. If Donald Trump wanted to play "Our In-Law" that night, it was a failure!
Where does this discord between the two women originate? We don't really know as each has done several dirty tricks on the other. In 2016 for example, during Donald Trump's first campaign. Melania had agreed to speak at a meeting by then, when she usually didn't feel very comfortable on stage. The speech hit the mark: for good reason, it was a real plagiarism of that pronounced at the 2008 Democratic Convention by… Michelle Obama. At the time, Melania had been consumed with guilt after this controversy. It was claimed that she herself rewrote a speech sent by her advisers, and shamelessly dug into the words of Barack Obama's wife. According to Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, it would be on the contrary a certain Rick Gates who would have composed the whole of the speech. The latter was certainly one of Donald Trump's campaign directors but above all a close friend of Ivanka. "If Ivanka controls Rick and Rick very likely wrote Melania's speech, shouldn't Ivanka be considered behind Melania's sabotage?" ", Writes the author.
For her part, Melania has never been kinder to her stepdaughter. In January 2017, the First Lady reportedly did everything to prevent Ivanka from appearing in photos of Donald Trump's inauguration. Isn't there enough room on the family portrait for two influential women?
It is about that, influence, and who will have the most influence on the current President of the United States. Ivanka Trump truly considers herself to be the gray eminence of this one. She is everywhere behind her father, invited to all official trips and events, even when you don't expect her. During the G20 in Japan in June 2019, she was seen getting involved in a conversation between Emmanuel Macron, Christine Lagarde, Theresa May and Justin Trudeau. The boss of the IMF seemed surprised by his presence. Is this the place of the daughter of the President of the United States, who normally has no official role? But Ivanka doesn't just make up the extras. She is the First Daughter, very often stealing the show from the First Lady.
For her part, Melania Trump would also be highly listened to by the President of the United States, who would have understood the media threat she could represent. So between a wife necessary for his re-election and a girl who asserts herself as his perfect heiress, will Donald Trump have to choose?
