The Trump First Lady Feud0:51
Reports of a feud between Ivana Trump and Melania Trump have surface on which one of them is the true "First Lady".
First lady Melania Trump has responded to Donald Trump’s fist wife’s comments about being the First Lady. Picture: Evan Vucci/APSource:AP
DONALD Trump’s wife Melania is embroiled in a public spat with his first wife, Ivana, who raised the US First Lady’s ire in a provocative interview.
Ivana Trump jokingly referred to herself as the First Lady while promoting her book, Raising Trump, during a television interview on ABC’s Good Morning America.
The first wife of the US President also revealed she is on good terms with her former husband and they speak regularly.
“I have the direct number to the White House but I don’t really want to call him there because Melania is there,” the Czech-American, who was married to Donald Trump from 1977 to 1992, said.
“I don’t really want to cause any kind of jealousy or something like that because I’m basically first Trump wife, OK? I’m First Lady, OK?”
Ivana Trump joked she was the First Lady, which didn’t impress the President’s wife. Picture: Michael Zorn/Invision/APSource:AP
It wasn’t long before the real First Lady responded via a statement from her spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham.
“Mrs Trump has made the White House a home for Barron and the President,” the statement said.
“She loves living in Washington, DC and is honoured by her role as First Lady of the United States. She plans to use her title and role to help children, not sell books.
“There is clearly no substance to this statement from an ex, this is unfortunately only attention-seeking and self-serving noise.”
The spat didn’t go unnoticed on Twitter with some saying it was entertaining and others calling it trivial.
watching melania feud w ivana pic.twitter.com/yjaVJh0O0p
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) October 9, 2017
Melania Trump and Ivana Trump fighting is better than anything Real Housewives could give us.
— Ashley (@ashcech) October 9, 2017
Somewhere in the WH #Melania is furiously copying down old Michelle Obama quotes for her rebuttal to #Ivana.
— Nick Walden Poublon (@NWPinPDX) October 9, 2017
This is actually happening. All the wives are fighting. Even I AM SPEECHLESS https://t.co/jryTCf3pud
— Andy Cohen (@Andy) October 9, 2017
Ivana Trump: I'm the first lady!
— ButHerEmails🇺🇸 (@Scimommy) October 9, 2017
Melania Trump: No, I'm the first lady!
Me: Ladies, ladies, stop fighting. You're both awful.
Ivana and Donald Trump divorced following his affair with Marla Maples, who went on to become his second wife.
The couple had three children together, Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric.
It was unclear whether the President was aware of the fracas. He was playing golf on Monday with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
According to CNN the statement is a “stunning departure” for Melania Trump who has until now largely stayed away from negativity and critics.
Mrs Trump has previously said she has a thick skin and doesn’t care what her critics say.
Mrs Trump was rarely seen in the weeks after the inauguration, and was usually at her husband’s side when she did appear in public.
Mr Trump pictured with now ex-wife Ivana in 1989. Picture: AFPSource:AFP
In an unusual move for modern first ladies, she and Barron, the couple’s now-11-year-old son, lived at the family’s Trump Tower penthouse in New York for several months after the inauguration so he wouldn’t have to switch schools in the middle of the year.
They joined Mr Trump at the White House in June, and Barron started sixth grade at a private school in Maryland after Labour Day.
The swipe at Ivana Trump comes after a recent CNN survey found Melania is the most popular Trump in the White House.
According to the September poll 44 per cent of those quizzed hold a favourable opinion of the First Lady.
It’s typical for first ladies to be more popular than their husbands, who are called upon to sound off on a host of difficult issues.
— with Reuters and AP
Ivana Trump says president asks for tweeting advice0:34
President Trump's ex-wife Ivana says she still talks to him once a week. She told CBS Sunday Morning that Trump asks for her advice on tweeting and offered her an ambassadorship to the Czech Republic, which she turned down.
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