The Weird Reason Why Donald Trump ‘Did Not Know How to Speak’ to His Kids Until They Went to College
Donald Trump, the former President of the United States, has always been a figure of public fascination, not least for his unconventional approach to both business and family life. A shocking revelation from his first wife, Ivana Trump, once revealed a new aspect of his image. A while ago, Ivana spilled the tea on how Donald was unable to effectively communicate with their children, Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric, until they were in university.
As per The Hill, Ivana, who was married to Donald from 1977 to 1992, spilled the beans in an interview with John Catsimatidis on AM 970’s The Answer. She revealed, “He did not know how to speak the children’s language. He was not able to do it until the kids were in university.” In another interview, Ivana spoke about her children and exclaimed, “Don [Jr] got in trouble with me more often than the other kids, probably because he was the oldest. He [Donald Sr] would love them, but he did not know how to speak to them in the children's way of thinking. He was able to speak to them only when they came from university, when eventually he was able to speak business to them. Otherwise, he really did not know how to handle the kids. The children didn't know how to relate to him, either.”
In her book Raising Trump, Ivana detailed her life, her marriage to Donald, and the hurdle of raising their three children. She wrote, “I told Donald, ‘There can only be one chef in the kitchen. And it was me…I kept them busy, busy, busy. Because if you keep your kids busy, they have no time to get in trouble… Number two, you don’t give your kids too much money… Ivanka had singing classes, piano classes, ballet classes. The boys had hockey classes, karate classes, skiing classes, golf classes, tennis classes. You try everything, and then you watch to see what the kids are good at… Ivanka, for example, she did not like the piano classes, so I cut them off. She did not enjoy it. And I know if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, you can never be great at it.”
As per GQ, however, her anecdotes seemed to reveal a father who was emotionally distant and more analytical. For instance, Donald was initially against naming their firstborn after himself. Apparently, the current GOP frontrunner said, “You can't do that! What if he's a loser?”
Donald Jr. had also been vocal about his struggles and challenging relationship with his father. He once recalled, “I like to joke that my dad wanted to be able to claim me as a dependent on his taxes for 1977…so he told my mom she had to have me before midnight and, if she didn't, he'd make her take a cab home.” Don Jr. further recalled how his father told him to never 'trust' anyone. "He'd say, ‘Do you trust me, your own father?’ We'd say, ‘Of course we do!’ And he'd say, ‘What did I just tell you? You didn't take the lesson!’ It was certainly an interesting Trump moment…because it's not something you'd see any conventional parent-child conversation go that way, especially not fully understanding what the concept of trust was.”
The tension in their relationship reached a peak during Donald and Ivana's highly publicized divorce. Young Don witnessed the fallout firsthand, including a dramatic confrontation between Ivana and Donald's mistress, Marla Maples. The impact was profound; Don stopped speaking to his father for a time and expressed his pain through anger.
