Did you know that US President Donald Trump isn’t an only child?
In fact, the President has four siblings, two sisters and two brothers.
Today (16 August 2020), Trump announced that his younger brother, Robert Trump, died aged 71 at a New York hospital.
“It is with heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight. He was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. Robert, I love you. Rest in peace,” he said.
Details of the cause of his death are unknown, but CNN reports that the 71-year-old had been ill for several months.
According to The New York Times, Robert Trump had suffered brain bleeds after a recent fall, and has not been able to speak on the phone for the last few weeks.
But who exactly is Robert Trump? Well, here’s everything you need to know about the lesser-known Trump.
A Man Who Shied Away From the Public Eye
Robert Trump was born in 1948 and was one of four siblings to Donald Trump. Just like his older brother, Robert joined the family business and was a top executive with the company, according to Town and Country Magazine (TCM), after working for some time on Wall Street.
Robert was reportedly the complete opposite of his older brother, in that he shied away from the public eye and had no penchant for ostentation.
“You could consider him the quietest of Trumps,” said Mr Michael D’Antonio, a Trump biographer. “He was glad to stay out of the spotlight.”
A former colleague described Robert as someone with a natural ease and good humour, quite unlike his older brother.
Family Feud
Robert’s relationship with his older brother soured due to conflicts in their professional life, especially as his older brother’s celebrity status grew.
In 1990, Trump opened the famous Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but due to problems with slot machines, his company lost tens of millions of dollars in revenue, reported The New York Times.
The casino wasn’t permitted to open because of a complete lack of financial control of the slot machines, but Trump placed all the blame on Robert, and even screamed at him at one meeting.
Robert stopped reporting directly to Trump after that, and their relationship reportedly took years to heal.
Reconciled During Presidential Campaign
The brothers reconciled when Donald Trump ran for president, with Robert saying in 2016 that he supported his brother’s presidential campaign “1,000 per cent”.
“If he were to need me in any way, I’d be there. Anything I could do to help.”
In June this year, Robert filed a temporary restraining order in a bid to block his niece’s publication, a book that offered a glance into the private lives of not just Donald Trump but the Trumps.
“Her attempt to sensationalize and mischaracterize our family relationship after all of these years for her own financial gain is both a travesty and injustice to the memory of my late brother, Fred, and our beloved parents,” he said.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, had discussed the possibility of taking legal action because the author has allegedly signed “very powerful” non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that “covers everything”. No further action, however, has been taken.
Visited By Trump Shortly Before Death
According to CNN, Donald Trump made a last-minute decision to go to New York on Friday to visit his brother, and said that he was having a hard time with an undisclosed illness.
“I have a wonderful brother. We have a great relationship for a long time, from day one, so long time ago. And he’s in the hospital right now,” Trump said at the time.
As he had no children, Robert leaves behind his second wife, Ann Marie Pallan, his sisters, Maryanne Trump Barry and Elizabeth Trump Grau, and of course the President.
“Uncle Robert, we love you. You are in our hearts and prayers, always,” said Ivanka Trump on Twitter.
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