Melania Trump Reportedly Schemed To Keep Ivanka Trump Out Of Inaugural Photos

Melania Trump didn’t want to share the limelight with Ivanka Trump during the president’s inauguration, the first lady’s former friend Stephanie Winston Wolkoff claimed.

According to OK! magazine, the soon-to-be first lady was in charge of the seating arrangements for the big day, and she made sure to put Ivanka where the cameras wouldn’t be able to capture her in the group photos of the event.

Stephanie worked with Melania as part of the inauguration committee, and she said the two of them worked out a way that would push Ivanka to the margins after Donald Trump’s eldest daughter had sent Stephanie a photo of Barack Obama’s swearing in.

In the image, Barack stands with his two kids, Sasha and Malia, along with Michelle.

Ivanka suggested it would be nice to have the entire Trump family gathered together for the swearing in. Stephanie claimed she was trying hard to make sure that not only would she appear in the images, but that her husband, Jared Kushner, and her three children would also get some time as the center of attention.

But Melania and Stephanie reportedly had other plans.

“Using [an executive’s] sketch, we were able to figure out whose face would be visible when Donald and Melania sat in their seats, and then when the family stood with Chief Justice John Roberts for Donald to take the oath of office,” Stephanie claimed. “If Ivanka was not on the aisle, her face would be hidden while she was seated. For the standing part, we put Barron between Donald and Melania.”

As photos of the day show, next to the president, the two placed Donald Trump Jr., which put Ivanka in a spot that made her difficult to get in group images.

Looking back, the author said she knew the whole idea was immature, but they didn’t want Ivanka to steal the attention.

“Operation Block Ivanka was petty. Melania was in on this mission. But in our minds, Ivanka shouldn’t have made herself the center of attention in her father’s inauguration,” she said.

As she wrote in the book, Stephanie and Melania felt that it should be Donald’s big day, but no one was willing to say that to Ivanka’s face. So they did what they could to push her aside.

Ivanka still managed to walk in the Pennsylvania Avenue inaugural parade with her family, which upset the first lady. The news is yet another revelation that adds to the rumors that Ivanka and Melania have a strained relationship that forces them to compete for Donald’s attention.

Stephanie’s book, Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady, is slated for release September 1.