Ivanka Trump was 'Donald in suit' as she poached Melania's staff and impinged on her duties, claims former aide
Ivanka Trump has been dubbed 'Donald in a suit' for trying to encroach upon First Lady Melania Trump's duties and poaching her staff. Stephanie Winston Wolkoff made the claims during her appearance on The Daily Beast's December 18 podcast of 'The New Abnormal with Molly Jong-Fast & Rick Wilson'.
Recorded three months after Wolkoff's explosive tell-all book 'Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady' was released on September 1, the podcast interview titled 'Inside the Ivanka-Melania War' saw Wolkoff recount the very early days of the Trump administration in 2016. The former friend of the first lady recalled that Melania "didn't come to DC that week — but Ivanka stayed and Donald stayed there." Wolkoff was then questioned if Ivanka was 'dumb' or 'evil', and she answered 'it's a mixture.'
The first lady's former aide said: "Listen, I say it as it is. I think it's a mixture. I really do. I think that Ivanka is Donald in a suit, right? All of the Trumps are taught to be Trumps. They don't show emotion. A Trump is a Trump because they are authentically and unapologetically skin deep, and also self-serving. And their attitudes and disrespect for each other is again, you have to get any inside to see it." She then continued with how Ivanka "impinged on Melania's duties while overstepping her rank and boundaries."
Wolkoff, who was a former adviser to Melania, claimed the president's 39-year-old first daughter is "the serial poacher." She explained: "And I mean that, in a sense like she poached individuals that were for the East Wing, that we were vetting to have — Kayleigh McEnany, Mercedes Schlapp. I mean, these were people Melania was looking to bring in. We called [Ivanka] the serial poacher." Wolkoff added: "It was deceptive. But you don't go and hire people that the first lady's looking to bring in. The princess wanted to render Melania irrelevant. And you know, Melania refers to them as ‘snakes’ — Jared and Ivanka — and they'll do anything to get what they want. And they do.”
A second part of the talk with Wolkoff that is scheduled to air next week, will reveal "previously-unheard tapes of Wolkoff and Melania," reports The Daily Beast. In her tell-all memoir released this September, Wolkoff revealed how Melania called her step-daughter 'princess' and even tried to block her from inauguration photos using crafty seating arrangements. The first lady had even gone on to ask her then-adviser Wolkoff to ensure she wasn't attending the same presidential inauguration events as the first-daughter. Melania even allegedly refused to wear the same designers as Ivanka, and dubbed her as a 'snake', believing the mother of three was intent on becoming the actual first lady of her father's administration.
Wolkoff had joined the White House as an unpaid adviser to Melania but her role in inaugural spending and security clearances were considered in February 2018. The former aide alleges that while she was told her firing had nothing to do with the inaugural spending, she felt betrayed that the first lady didn't defend her. Curious how the funds went missing, Wolkoff admittedly began documenting everything in her defense and also participated in the eventual inaugural spending investigations — that was the inception of her memoir.