President Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, and daughter Ivanka are rarely seen together, leading many to speculate about the nature of their relationship. In her 2020 memoir, ‘Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship With the First Lady’, former confidante Stephanie Winston Wolkoff detailed what she described as a “tense relationship” between the two women.
‘Operation Block Ivanka’
One of the most talked-about revelations in Wolkoff’s book was an alleged plan dubbed “Operation Block Ivanka,” aimed at keeping Ivanka out of prominent camera shots during Trump’s 2016 inauguration.
According to Wolkoff, both she and Melania participated in orchestrating the seating arrangements and positioning of family members to minimize Ivanka's visibility during the ceremony.
Wolkoff claimed that Ivanka had texted her a photo of Sasha and Malia Obama standing with their parents during President Obama’s swearing-in, writing, “FYI regarding the swearing in. It is nice to have family with him for this special moment.”
Using seating charts from the inauguration walk-through, Wolkoff said she and Melania worked out who would be visible on camera during the inauguration.
“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. 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 and made sure that Don Jr. stood next to Melania, not Ivanka....Yes, 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,” Wolkoff wrote.
{{/usCountry}}“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. 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 and made sure that Don Jr. stood next to Melania, not Ivanka....Yes, 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,” Wolkoff wrote.
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Melania's Text About Ivanka And Jared
Wolkoff also shared a text she claimed to have received from Melania, in which the First Lady allegedly referred to Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, saying, "You know how they are snakes."