Tiffany Trump relationship with her father has ‘gotten worse’ since the presidency
April 5, 2018
Usually, we’re talking about Tiffany Trump in the context of “she’s the forgotten Trump.” She didn’t grow up in New York, she wasn’t around her father for the most part. Her mother Marla Maples raised Tiffany in LA, and Tiffany lived most of her life separate from her father and her half-siblings, feeling like she was always in Ivanka’s shadow. But Tiffany got some time with her dad over the Easter holiday – she went to Mar-a-Lago for the holiday, and then Tiffany turned up at the White House Easter Egg Roll. So what’s Tiffany’s relationship with her father like now?
With rare, back-to-back appearances spanning three states, Tiffany Trump and her father, President Donald Trump, seem to be on something of a father-daughter reunion tour. This past week alone, Tiffany tagged along with her father as he gave a speech on infrastructure in Ohio; hitched a ride with him on Air Force One to Mar-a-Lago for Easter weekend (where they also attended an holiday church service together); and returned with the president to Washington, D.C. for the annual White House Easter egg roll.
Tiffany told PEOPLE in 2016 that since she grew up with mom Marla Maples, Trump’s second wife, in California, visiting her father on her spring breaks from school became a tradition. “I still see him on spring breaks or for Easter, I’m always at Mar-a-Lago with the family,” the Georgetown Law School student explained.
But insiders tell PEOPLE that behind the scenes, Tiffany’s already strained relationship with her father has hit new lows since he took office in January 2017, with the pair going months at a time without contact.
“Since the inauguration, Tiffany and her father have sometimes gone for months without speaking and she went a very long time without seeing him,” a source close to Trump’s younger daughter says. “The last time she was at a family function with him, it was awkward for her and she didn’t feel totally welcome.”
Although Tiffany, 24, was rarely seen on the campaign trail — especially in comparison to her far more visible older half-siblings, Ivanka, Don Jr. and Eric — she did make appearances with her father in the final days before the 2016 election and also spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention in July. The source tells PEOPLE that Trump and Tiffany’s time on the road included “bonding moments” that brought the father and daughter closer together — but that closeness was short-lived.
“They always had a strained relationship her whole life, and it got exacerbated by the presidency,” the source says. “It’s gotten much worse now.”
While I think we’re all agreed that Ivanka, Don Jr. and Eric are complicit as hell, should we give Tiffany a pass? I don’t know. I keep thinking about how difficult it would be to grow up the forgotten child, the child passed over constantly in favor of your dad’s “favorite daughter.” That being said, Tiffany is still making the choice to hang out with her dad on holidays and she’s right there for the White House Easter Egg Roll. Maybe she’s complicit too. Just to a much smaller degree.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Backgrid.
