First lady Melania Trump is known to keep to herself and her own circle. She is a private person and not much is known about her. Expect the fact that Melania Trump and the eldest first daughter Ivanka Trump, do not see eye to eye.
Anyone who has ever been in a room with these two could tell you the mercury drops 2 degrees when these two influential women come face to face. Interestingly, neither has ever come forward with any opinion or any comments about the other. Yet the feeling of disdain is very much palpable to everyone.
This “animosity” between two ladies is not new. It has been reported that even since Melania got married to President Donald Trump, the relationship between Melania and Ivanka has always been sour. This may be because, before Melania, Trump wasn’t serious with any woman in his life. Maybe Ivanka was not ready to see anyone else take his mother’s place.
Another reason could be that there is an age gap of only 11 years between Ivanka and Melania, whereas Donald Trump is 24 years older than Melania.
.@IvankaTrump has denied she is stepping in for @MELANIATRUMP as First Lady: https://t.co/kZ5oxl5Iap pic.twitter.com/YYs5llDyFX
— HELLO! (@hellomag) January 19, 2017
This age gap could also be a reason for Ivanka to not get along with Melania. However, the strain in their relationship became very visible when Donald Trump won his first term, and his first family was said to have moved into the white house.
During Donald Trump’s first term, Melania was once suggested to deviate from the First Lady’s office and consider making an office of First family. This was probably suggested to her once officials saw Ivanka’s influence on Donald Trump.
Young Ivanka & Melania Trump 🎀 pic.twitter.com/36pu4tPxOn
— Keeping Up With The Trumps (@KUWTTRUMPS) February 17, 2025
Ivanka remained an important figure in politics during Donald Trump’s first term. She was part of policy-making teams and had her own office at the white house. Meanwhile, Melania Trump was stuck doing the basic duties of a second wife. She was hosting parties and making appearances. All this would not have increased Melania’s confidence.
According to one report, John Kelly, the White House Chief of Staff at the time, even had to act as a mediator between Melania and Ivanka and their offices in 2018.
After the first term, Ivanka has decided to stay away from politics and pay more attention to her family. She wanted to concentrate on raising her kids. Something that Ivanka has time and again praised Melania for. No matter the cold war, Ivanka always maintained that Melania was a wonderful mother.
.@IvankaTrump praises @MELANIATRUMP as ‘an unbelievable mother’ with ‘the right priorities’ https://t.co/9VphJ3IrH2 pic.twitter.com/z6qjiH03wB
— People (@people) July 20, 2016
However, now that the second term of Donald Trump has begun, the silent competition between Melania and Ivanka has already started. During the inauguration ceremony, Melania and Ivanka did not talk to each other. However, the fuel to the fire was Ivanka’s latest interview on a podcast, where she mentioned her father and the comfort of family.
She said she likes spending time with her father, where he gets to be him and has no pressure or expectations. During this, she didn’t mention Melania at all; rather, the implication of Ivanka’s statement was that Donald Trump is most relaxed only with her.
No matter how far Ivanka goes from politics or how many Amazon documentary deals Melania signs, the power struggle between these two women will not cease to exist.
