Rumors of tension between the former First Lady Melania Trump and her stepdaughter Ivanka Trump have been long-sweeping, generated by their clearly few public interactions. In her 2020 memoir Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship With the First Lady, former friend and advisor Stephanie Winston Wolkoff revealed details of what she called a ‘tense relationship’ between the two.
‘Operation Block Ivanka’
One of the most controversial allegations in Wolkoff’s book is about a plan supposedly referred to as ‘Operation Block Ivanka’ aimed at diminishing Ivanka’s on-camera appearance during Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential inauguration.
Wolkoff described how she and Melania collaborated in planning out the seating arrangement to tactfully limit Ivanka’s exposure throughout the occasion. She explained, “We were able to calculate whose face would be seen when Donald and Melania sat in their seats, and then when the family stood with Chief Justice John Roberts for Donald to recite the oath of office. If Ivanka was not on the aisle, her face would be obscured while seated. For the standing part, we placed Barron between Melania and Donald and ensured that Don Jr. stood by Melania, not Ivanka. Yes, Operation Block Ivanka was juvenile. Melania was privy to this mission. But in our minds, Ivanka shouldn’t have put herself at the forefront of her father’s inauguration.”
The effort was reportedly prompted by a text Ivanka had sent Wolkoff prior to the ceremony. It contained a picture of Sasha and Malia Obama and their parents at President Obama’s swearing-in. Ivanka typed, “FYI regarding the swearing in. It is nice to have family with him for this special moment.”
Melania’s Reported Comment on Ivanka and Jared
Fueling the account of family drama, Wolkoff also alleged that Melania texted her a venomous message regarding Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner. Melania purportedly wrote in the message, “You know how they are snakes.”
The memoir’s assertions create an image of one-upmanship and backroom maneuvering in the Trump family, notably between Melania and Ivanka, during one of the most closely followed political events in recent American history.
