Melania Trump and Ivanka’s relationship changed when Donald Trump became president, says expert

President Donald Trump can always count on the support of two women who have always been there for him even before he reached the Oval Office. His wife, Melania Trump has been with him in his political journey from the very start just as much as his daughter, Ivanka Trump, who is now very involved in running his government as his senior political adviser.

While Ivanka and Melania Trump are definitely supportive of Donald Trump, there are doubts about whether the two women’s relationship is as smooth as it appears on the surface. What’s interesting to note is that while Melania is open about discussing her step-children, “Ivanka rarely discussed her stepmother,” according to Express.

Melania and Ivanka’s relationship is a bit unusual because the First Lady is only 11 years older than her step-daughter. It’s hard for Ivanka to see her stepmom as a mother figure since she is already a 24-year-old adult when Donald Trump married Melania.

This was also admitted by Melania Trump herself in a 2016 interview with Harper's Bazaar. “They are grown-up,” Melania said. “I don't see myself as their mother. I am their friend, and I'm here when they need me.”

But that doesn’t mean that Melania and Ivanka are adversarial to each other. While they might not view their connection as that of a mother and daughter, they are still very close. “Ivanka and Mrs. Trump have always shared a close relationship, and that continues today,” the FLOTUS’ spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said.

However, Donald Trump’s presidency might have caused some changes to the dynamics between Melania and Ivanka. According to CNN correspondent Kate Bennett, the President’s entry into politics introduced “friction” between the two women, as reported by Express.

“One unique element of the Donald Trump administration is the presence of the President’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her relationship to First Lady, Melania Trump.

Ivanka and Melania Trump were pretty close since the latter became her stepmom. “They have been a glamorous step-mother and step-daughter since 2005,” Bennett said. “But it was 2016 during the Trump presidential campaign when the dynamic between the two women shifted to politics.”

Bennett noted how Melania would often be absent in campaigns prompting Ivanka to fill in her place. “Most times on the campaign trail, Melania was not interested in doing traditional spousal appearances so it was Ivanka, as surrogate, who stepped into the role,” Bennett added.

Eventually, Ivanka became the administration’s female face. “She stayed on as the female face of the administration and the family after Trump became President,” the CNN correspondent explained. “She took on, as senior adviser, some of the more traditional First Lady issues involving women, childcare credit and female entrepreneurship.”

This arrangement later led to their friction. “This created an odd dynamic, switching off front seat-back seat as the two women in Trump’s orbit,” Bennett said. “A relationship, which one source with knowledge has said, has created a ‘cordial, but not close dynamic, and, at times, friction’.”