View 2 Images

Ivanka Trump and first lady Melania Trump sat one seat apart at the State of the Union(Image: Getty Images)

The Trump family reunited at President Donald Trump’s nearly two-hour State of the Union address on Tuesday night, which has resurfaced conversations about the tensions between first lady Melania Trump and the president’s eldest daughter Ivanka Trump.

The president’s two leading ladies sat close to one another at his speech, with Barron Trump — Trump’s youngest son and only child with Melania — sitting in between them. Melania and Ivanka reportedly have a years-long feud, which reached its boiling point during Trump’s first administration.

During Trump’s first term, he relied on Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, as his White House senior advisors. However, the couple decided to step away from politics in Trump’s second term, citing family commitments.

While many would have thought the tensions between Ivanka and Melania would have subsided with the president’s eldest daughter’s absence during his second term, their relationship still appears icy, according to insiders.

Most recently, Melania’s anticipated self-titled documentary didn’t include a trace of the first lady’s stepdaughter, which some claim is a statement in itself about the state of their relationship.

Insiders have noted the “complete absence” of Ivanka from Melania’s documentary on Rob Shuter’s Substack.

You agree you are 18 or over. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Unsubscribe at any time. More info

“Melania and Ivanka do not get along — not at all,” the source claimed. “There’s real tension, and Melania made it clear she didn’t want Ivanka anywhere near this film.”

Another insider said, “There’s zero love lost. Ivanka’s absence is intentional. This is Melania’s world, and she wanted it that way.”

A source who saw an early screening of the film told Shuter, “It’s her story, her rules. Barron is protected, Ivanka is gone, and the spotlight never leaves Melania.”

View 2 Images

Ivanka was notably absent from Melania’s self-titled documentary (Image: Getty Images)

Where did the tension between Melania and Ivanka start?

During Trump’s first administration, the troubled relationship reached its breaking point when Ivanka served as a de facto first lady at the White House while Melania was in New York City waiting for his school year to finish.

“Melania lived in New York. She didn’t appear in public or release statements to the press. Her social media was quiet,” Stephanie Winston Wolkoff wrote in her 2020 book, Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady. “Ivanka rushed in to fill the void as ‘acting’ First Lady, issuing constant social media posts and press releases galore about her involvement with women’s issues, lobbying Daddy about climate change (alas, unsuccessfully), and attending every meeting she could slink her way into.”

Katie Rogers, author of American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden, wrote that Melania privately referred to Ivanka as “The Princess.” Rogers further claimed that the pair “locked in a quiet competition for press coverage.”

These rumors were further fueled when only Tiffany Trump and her husband, Michael Boulos, attended the state dinner with the royal family in September. Ivanka’s absence ushered many to recall the first state visit to the U.K. with the queen in 2019.

A NewsNation insider claimed that Melania felt “overshadowed” by Ivanka during that visit. “That wasn’t going to happen again. Melania is much more in power and control than she was in the first presidency and didn’t want Ivanka coming to this meeting,” the source shared.

Following the State of the Union, social media users called out Ivanka’s glittery Oscar de la Renta ensemble as looking similar to the the controversial metallic pants Melania wore to the Governors Dinner days prior. Overall, users were not impressed with either of their looks.