Photo: Mark Reinstein / Shutterstock
He wasn't there when she was growing up, and isn't really there for her now.
By Micki Spollen — Written on Jan 06, 2022
We all know about Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka. It’s hard not to when he talks about her all the time; in fact, according to Factbase, Trump has mentioned her name over 650 times in public, most of which is spent praising her.
We also know about Trump’s sons Don Jr., Eric, and little Barron.
However, it's easy to forget about Tiffany Trump. And although Tiffany made a few appearances during Trump's campaign for President, it seems her place in his life is insignificant to that of her other siblings.
Who is Tiffany Trump's mom?
Tiffany’s mother is Marla Maples, who was Donald’s mistress during his marriage to Ivana Trump. The two married in December of 1993, a couple months after Tiffany’s birth.
But according to Donald himself, his heart was never really in either relationship. He once said that he had other girlfriends while dating Maples.
What’s more, in a now-infamous 2004 interview with Howard Stern, Donald revealed his rather awkward reaction to Maples telling him she was pregnant with Tiffany.
“At the time it was like, ‘Excuse me, what happened?’ And then I said, ‘Well, what are we going to do about this?’” he re-lived for Stern.
“She [Maples] said, ‘Are you serious? It’s the most beautiful day of our lives.’ I said, ‘Oh, great.’”
Of course, for Donald Trump, the family name is everything, so it’s doubtful he’d ever purposely insult one of his own.
When asked to describe his youngest daughter in 2016, Donald replied via email: “Tiffany is a tremendous young woman with a big and beautiful heart. She was always a great student and a very popular person no matter where she went. I am incredibly proud of Tiffany and how well she has done.”
However, because of the following, we’re not quite sure how truthful that is.
Here are some odd details about Donald Trump's relationship with his youngest daughter Tiffany Trump:
1. Donald Trump wasn’t around when Tiffany Trump was growing up.
As a real estate mogul and businessman and now President, Trump has always been a busy guy, so it’s not shocking that he’d have less time with his children. However, Tiffany’s relationship with her father had more strikes against it than just her father’s job.
When Trump and Maples divorced in 1999, Maples settled in California in an attempt to keep Tiffany out of the public eye. Of course, this meant Tiffany was on the complete other side of the country than her father.
“I would bring her into New York a couple times a year and let her go see her dad in the office,” Maples had said, but otherwise, Tiffany and Donald had little contact.
2. Donald Trump didn’t treat Tiffany Trump the same way he treated his other children.
A Vanity Fair profile of the relationship between Ivanka and Tiffany revealed that Tiffany didn’t receive the same treatment as Trump’s three oldest kids.
“All she wanted, really, was a way to enjoy some of the privileges her friends got to enjoy, in the same way she would have enjoyed them if she’d lived under our father’s roof,” Ivanka wrote in her book, The Trump Card. But according to Ivanka, that had more to do with distance than negative feelings.
3. Trump favors Ivanka over Tiffany.
Trump has never been shy about his love for Ivanka (in fact, at times, it’s been rather creepy). He’s even gone so far as to outright call her his favorite child.
According to body language expert Dr. Lillian Glass in an interview, Trump’s apathetic feelings toward Tiffany are blatant.
"It's obvious that [Donald's] negative feelings towards Tiffany's mother has leaked over to Tiffany, as she is clearly not his favorite," Glass said about the body language between Trump and his daughters at a 2018 appearance. "It seems he doesn't respect her as much as he does Ivanka."
4. Donald Trump and Tiffany Trump go months without speaking.
You can imagine that the President of The United States has quite a bit on his hands. However, you’d also imagine that most parents would do their best to make time for their children, no matter what job they held.
But thanks in part to Trump’s position as President, he and Tiffany’s relationship is worse than ever.
“Since the inauguration, Tiffany and her father have sometimes gone for months without speaking and she went a very long time without seeing him,” a source close to Tiffany said. “The last time she was at a family function with him, it was awkward for her and she didn’t feel totally welcome.”
5. Tiffany Trump is known as “The Other Trump.”
While Ivanka, Eric, and Don Jr. were all very present during Trump’s campaign and presidency, Tiffany has taken more of a backseat and has, therefore, become known as the “other” or “forgotten” Trump.
Even Trump himself seems to put her last.
During a 2018 appearance alongside Tiffany and Ivanka, whenever Trump mentioned the two, Ivanka always came first.
He also told Fox and Friends that he’s proud of Tiffany to “a lesser extent” than his other children.
6. Tiffany's siblings reportedly thought about “bumping her” from their inheritance.
According to some reports, Trump told Stern in a series of old interviews that Ivanka and Don Jr. considered “bumping” Tiffany out of the inheritance package.
“It does cut up the pie as you keep producing," he said.
7. Tiffany Trump wishes she knew her dad better, according to her mom.
While Tiffany herself hasn’t spoken ill of Trump, Maples revealed in a 2016 phone interview with the Times that she wishes she’d get to spend more time with him.
“She’d like to get to know her father better and spend time with him like his other children did: by going to his office and watching him work,” Maples said.
In 2018, a source said, “They do see each other and Tiffany goes to the White House for holidays.”
Micki Spollen is an editor, writer, and traveler focused on relationships, news and pop culture. Follow her on Instagram.