President Donald Trump isn’t just battling back political enemies in court. He’s also having to battle the grief that comes with the loss of close family members, as he’s lost siblings, an ex-wife, and Melania’s mother over the past years, any loss of which would have been painful on its own. During his interview with Newsmax host Greg Kelly, Trump spoke about how he has managed to overcome that grief.
As background, Trump lost his mother-in-law in early January 2024. That tragic passing followed a string of other losses of close family members, including the loss of his brother, Robert S. Trump, in 2020 and his first wife, Ivana Trump, in 2022. Further, he Trump lost his older sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, in late 2023 at the age of 86. She died of cancer.
Asking Trump how he has managed to overcome the grief from the losses during the interview, Kelly asked, “You’re a tough person, obviously. But you have experienced loss like anybody else. You’ve lost your brother over the past couple years, your sister, your late wife Ivana. How do you grieve?”
Continuing and explaining the quite personal question, Kelly pointed to Trump’s ability to bounce back despite the grief, saying, “Becuase you were right back at work, you had to be. It is hard to conceive somebody like you shedding tears and I’m curious, did it happen then? Has it happened?”
Trump, responding, first noted the loss of Melania’s mom, a very painful moment for the family, saying, “So, I don’t like to do it. When you lose somebody, it is very tough. I lost my mother-in-law very recently. She was a great woman. A beautiful woman, inside and out, and she died. And I will tell you, it’s a tough thing. I don’t like to show that. I don’t like to see it.”
Jumping in, Greg Kelly said, “But you have to.” Trump, in response, said, “Sure you do. You do when you lose somebody that you really love,” He continued, “My sister, my brother, when you lose your parents, it’s a very tough thing, and I find nothing wrong with it. But I don’t like to do it in public. Now I have to tell you, sometimes I don’t think you can really help it, and that’s okay too, but grieving is grieving. When you lose somebody that is very close, in many ways, if you don’t grieve, perhaps you’re not such a good person.”
When Melania’s mom died around the time of the Iowa primary, Trump made sure to recognize her and her life, showing noticeable sadness as he did so. He said, “I think most importantly, I want to thank my incredible wife, first lady, I’ll say former and maybe future, but more important than Melania, I want to thank her incredible, beautiful mother who passed away a few days ago.”
He continued, “And she’s up there, way up there. She’s looking down and she’s so proud of us. And I just want to say to Amalia, you are special, one of the most special people I’ve ever known. And that was a tough period of time for the family. But she’s amazing. She was amazing. So I just want to thank what she’s done for our family and her husband.”
Featured image credit: By U.S. Army/Army Sgt. Ashley Marble – https://www.dvidshub.net/image/3112520/58th-presidential-inauguration-liberty-ball, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55200606
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