What to Know
When Melania premiered at the Kennedy Center on Thursday, January 29, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, were reportedly at a different event in Miami Beach. Apparently, it’s not that Ivanka didn’t want to see her stepmom’s documentary. Instead, Melania Trump allegedly didn’t invite her.
Melania and Ivanka reportedly have a complicated relationship. Sources previously told Rob Shuter that Ivanka was not included in the film and that her “absence is intentional.” And now, insiders are saying the same thing about the documentary’s premiere.
Melania reportedly wanted everyone to focus on her at the premiere.
Insiders told Rob that Melania didn’t want to share the spotlight with anyone at the film’s premiere, so she didn’t want Ivanka to attend her event. One source told Rob, “It’s Melania, front and center, no interruptions. She’s drawing a line. Ivanka knows her place.” Was Ivanka surprised by the snub? It doesn’t seem like it. But it still bothered her, according to insiders. Ivanka allegedly told her friends that being excluded “hurts,” but she’s also “not surprised” that her stepmom made this decision.
Even though Ivanka was excluded from the film and its premiere, the documentary has inadvertently provided the general public with a closer look into the two women’s relationship with each other. And as of now, their relationship is not looking great. One insider previously told Rob that there’s “real tension” between them and they allegedly “do not get along — not at all.” Yikes.
But most of the Trump kids didn’t attend.
Ivanka was not the only person who was notably absent from the film’s premiere. According to the New York Post, Melania’s stepson Eric Trump and his wife, Lara, also skipped the event. Their rep said, “They are deeply proud of the First Lady and the remarkable story being shared. They are confident the premiere will be a tremendous success and regret missing what will undoubtedly be a wonderful evening.” Perhaps more surprisingly, Melania’s son Barron did not attend. Barron appears in the film, but the other Trump kids do not, according to the publication.
Previously, an insider told Rob that Melania was closely involved in the creation of the documentary and had a lot of creative control. She seemed to confirm this herself during a Fox News appearance. “What I do, what I don’t do, when I talk, when I don’t talk. And that’s my choice, and nobody is in charge of me,” she said.
