Melania & Ivanka Trump Have Reportedly Saddled Each Other With Brutal Nicknames

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Pundits have long speculated about what Melania Trump's relationship with Ivanka Trump is really like behind the scenes. It's complicated, to say the very least. As President Donald Trump's second term dragged on, all eyes were once again on the first lady and his eldest daughter, as old stories about the two supposedly having a rocky relationship bubbled back up to the surface. Unsurprisingly, there have been tons of reports over the years that the two women, in honor of their mutual distaste for each other, came up with demeaning nicknames for one another (that's how the Trumps do it!). 

Ivanka reportedly took to calling Melania "The Portrait" behind her back, a name derived from the first lady's apparent lack of interest in saying or doing anything except when she feels like it. This tidbit was revealed in Pulitzer Prize-winner Mary Jordan's book about Melania, entitled "The Art of Her Deal." Ivanka was also reportedly quite happy to take on the duties of the first lady in Melania's temporary absence after her father commenced his first term. It's said that the first lady didn't appreciate Ivanka trying to fill her shoes, and according to Jordan, Melania referred to Ivanka as "The Princess."

And yet, when Ivanka was asked about her relationship with her stepmother during a 2016 interview with People, she couldn't sing her praises enough. "Melania is an unbelievable mother," Ivanka gushed, adding, "Melania is very smart, she's very warm, she's got an incredible heart." The eldest Trump daughter added that she believed Melania would make an excellent first lady while also praising her efforts to always put the needs of her son, Barron Trump, first. It seems that what the two women said about each other in public was vastly different from what happened behind closed doors, though.

When Mary Jordan first released her book detailing the simmering feud between Melania and Ivanka Trump, the first lady's former chief of staff and press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, decried the claims as complete rubbish. "This book belongs in the fiction genre," Grisham declared (via People). In another statement, she reassured the public, "Ivanka and Mrs. Trump have always shared a close relationship, and that continues today," per Vanity Fair. But then, shockingly, Melania's former aide turned against her beloved boss by releasing a bombshell book of her own in 2021: "I'll Take Your Questions Now." 

Within its pages, Grisham confirmed that Melania did indeed privately call Ivanka "The Princess," that the two women rarely saw eye to eye, and that they were caught in a constant power struggle during President Donald Trump's first term. Another book doubled down on claims that the first lady and her daughter-in-law couldn't stand each other too. In "American Woman," Katie Rogers alleged that the controversial "I really don't care, do you?" jacket that Melania infamously wore back in 2018 as she paid migrant children at the border a visit wasn't meant for the media, as the first lady reasoned. 

Apparently, it was actually a giant middle finger to Ivanka. "[They] were locked in a quiet competition for press coverage," Rogers asserted. In fact, Melania seemingly confirmed her feud with Ivanka in her own memoir, simply called "Melania" — especially when she described her relationship with her husband's children. "I recognize their individuality, understanding that, as their stepmother, my role is not to replace their mothers but to nurture a supportive and amicable connection," Melania wrote. An "amicable connection" hardly describes the warm and fuzzy stuff happy relationships are typically made of.