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The Trump family continues to make headlines following their four years in the White House. A new book previewed by the New York Post has shared reports about what took place behind closed doors between members of the presidential family, including claims of a “power struggle” and a “quiet competition for press coverage.”
American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden, by Katie Rogers has reignited some previous controversy, involving the relationship between Melania and Ivanka Trump, and the infamous ‘I Really Don’t Care Jacket’ worn by the former First Lady.
“[Melania] was aware that her husband had suggested that his eldest daughter would be helping to share the responsibilities of being First Lady, and this was not a development that pleased her,” the author wrote, adding that Melania wore the jacket as a message to Ivanka, as “[They] were locked in a quiet competition for press coverage,” at the time.
The book claims that the pair were involved in an “internal power struggle,” with Ivanka reportedly changing the role of the First Lady so it was “geared to serving the entire First Family, not just the First Lady.” The book claims that Melania was constantly keeping an eye on “what the press, her critics, and her supporters were saying about her.”
It was also reported that Melania did not agree with the involvement of Ivanka, her brothers, and their spouses in the White House; “If she ever waged a battle over the issue, it is one she clearly lost: For four years, it was hard to see where the operations of the family business stopped and the Trump administration started,” the author wrote.
Beyond her role as a First Lady, the author states that Melania would organize “meetings with teams of lawyers to examine her assets and attend to matters associated with her pre- and postnuptial agreements with her husband,” as shared with her by Stephanie Grisham, a top aide to Melania.
“I know that she had very separate finances that she watched very carefully, and she had her own lawyers that she met with a good amount,” Grisham told the author. “It often had to do with prenups and money in the bank that she had personally.”