Enveloped in a never-ending string of scandal, 70-year-old Donald Trump is constantly on the defence.
The sheer breadth of the President’s alleged controversies range from bankruptcy, racism, allegiance with white supremacists and not to mention his ongoing dedication to voicing his sexist views.
In fact, the father-of-five has been reported for numerous cases of sexual assault, including the alleged rape of his first wife, Ivana, in 1989.
Although the former model went on to retract her claims, explaining at the time: “During a deposition given by me in connection with my matrimonial case, I stated that my husband had raped me. [O]n one occasion during 1989, Mr. Trump and I had marital relations in which he behaved very differently toward me than he had during our marriage.”
“As a woman, I felt violated, as the love and tenderness, which he normally exhibited towards me, was absent. I referred to this as a ‘rape,’ but I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense.”
As the President settles into his new role, his four older children and his son-in-law are now front and centre at the White House and it turns out, their histories are as chequered as their father’s.
We take a look at the First Family’s most outrageous scandals…
Ivana retracted her statements about the alleged assault and is still “firm friends” with her ex.
IVANKA TRUMP, 35
The President’s 35 year-old-daughter Ivanka Trump has built a career as a fashion model and businesswoman. Before she moved to Washington, she was the Executive Vice President of Development & Acquisitions of her father’s company and ran her own clothing and accessories brand.
While her father has certainly said some outrageous things, it’s his comments about his eldest daughter that have onlookers truly confused.
During a 2003 Howard Stern interview, Donald Trump said Ivanka had “the best body” and in 2006 he admitted on The View if she wasn’t his daughter he would be dating her.
“She has a very nice figure. I’ve said that if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”
At the time, the then-24-year-old just laughed it off.
America’s first daughter, 35-year-old Ivanka Trump.
And who could forget Donald’s classic zinger, admitting he wished he had “sex” in common with his child.
“No matter what I hear about my parents, about my family, no matter what I read, the fact is that I’m absolutely proud to be a Trump,” Ivanka admits.
Thankfully, being a Trump means she knows how to handle controversy and over the years, the mother-of-three has had to weather a few storms.
Her fashion brand has been criticized by PETA and animal rights activists for using fur from rabbits. According to the animal rights organisation, the animals are skinned alive at rabbit farms in China.
Then, in 2016 her “Ivanka Trump” branded scarves did not meet federal flammability standards, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and were recalled because they were a “burn risk”.
WATCH: Donald Trump jokes about sex. Post continues after the video…
The apple of Trump’s eye.
But her most catastrophic moment with her fashion house has to be 2016’s bracelet-gate.
During the first exclusive interview with her newly-elected father on America’s 60 Minutes, which saw 20 million viewers in America alone, not mention the international audience, Ivanka took the moment to wear a stunning gold bracelet, valued at more than AU$13,000, from her jewellery line.
The next day, a “style-alert” email was sent by Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry to fashion journalists around the world promoting the bangle – the email conveniently used a screenshot from the TV interview.
Many noted that there was clear blurring of the lines between business and politics. Following the backlash, the company issued an apology.
Ivanka is definitely Donald’s right hand woman, though she has said she has no political desires, “I’m going to be a daughter!”
The former model prides herself as a working woman, so much so that she founded Women Who Work, which she describes as a new initiative celebrating women who work at all aspects of their lives.
While the 35-year-old is certain that she’d have no official role in her father’s administration, she has mused: “I’ve said throughout the campaign that I am very passionate about certain issues. And that I want to fight for them.”
Those issues include paid parental leave and affordable childcare.
However, it turns out for Ivanka in her role as a business tycoon, she is not an advocate for maternity leave.
Donald with his two leading ladies at his inauguration.
Marissa Velez Kraxberger was Ivanka’s former Creative Vice President. The New York native took to Facebook to share her experiences about working for Trump while she was pregnant – and the issues she faced when it came to receiving paid leave.
She explained that Trump’s current maternity leave policy is actually the result of dedicated employees lobbying for it and that Ivanka, who prides herself for returning to work just a week after giving birth, was resistant to it.
“When I asked about maternity leave she said she would have to think about it, that at Trump they don’t offer maternity leave and that she went back to work just a week after having her first child.”
“Our team–the ones who created #WomenWhoWork and the ones who the hashtag really stood for–fought long and hard to get her to finally agree to 8 weeks paid maternity leave,” Marissa penned.
You can read her post in full here.
Jared Kushner is much more that just Donald’s son-in-law…
JARED KUSHNER, 36
Donald Trump’s princess found her prince in real estate tycoon Jared Kushner.
But the 36-year-old Harvard educated businessman isn’t scot-free when it comes to drama.
His father reportedly donated $USD2.5million to the ivy league school, before his son was admitted.
“His GPA [grade point average] did not warrant it, his SAT scores did not warrant it. We thought, for sure, there was no way this was going to happen. Then, lo and behold, Jared was accepted,” a former official from Jared’s high school revealed to author Daniel Golden in his book The Price of Admission.
Mazel Tov! Ivanka and Jared made it to the alter in 2009.
While it may seem Ivanka and Jared are a match made in real estate heaven, the couple faced many roadblocks before their holy union.
The duo first got together in 2007, with Ivanka describing their first date as “the best deal we ever made!”
Yet a year later they parted ways, with The New Yorker claiming it was at the hands of Jared’s parents, who didn’t approve of the billionaire’s Presbyterian-raised daughter as she was not Jewish.
Not one to turn her back on a good deal, Ivanka decided to do the best thing she could to close on Jared, she converted to Judaism.
“I would say she is definitely the CEO of our household, whereas I’m more on the board of directors.”
“One of the jokes I first started making when Jared and I first started dating is, I’m a New Yorker, I’m in real estate. I’m as close to Jewish, with an ‘i-s-h’ naturally as anyone can start off,” Ivanka laughed.
And she wasn’t going to lose her man, at any cost. That meant the socialite needed to learn to cook.
“I was a total incompetent in the kitchen. I probably would have googled how to boil an egg at that point in my life,” she told Wendy Williams.
“There’s something that feels very feminine to me about being able to do that for my husband. Just the ability to come home and be able to offer him that once a week and to be able to cook a dinner for us as a family.”
Jared clearly adores his wife, with Ivanka proudly revealing that the best gift she was ever given by his was “an immersion blender” because she was “really into soups.”
When Jared isn’t being the perfect husband dad to their children Arabella, five, Joseph, three, and Theodore, ten months, he’s dedicates his time serving Donald as his senior adviser.
However, it is illegal for family members to be an official part of a president’s cabinet, something that was enacted as a result of President John F. Kennedy making his brother, Robert, attorney general.
Donald is a huge fan of the other man in his daughter’s life.
Yet that doesn’t stop Jared from dancing around nepotism laws, stepping in when he can to help his father-in-law.
A Trump adviser recounted a story to the The New Yorker, revealing that Jared wasn’t a fan of Donald’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
“Jared, the son-in-law, who is a snaky little m———–, a horrible human being, hated Corey, so Jared sided with Paul[Manafort] to get rid of Corey.”
“The real campaign manager, in fact, the entire time, has been Jared Kushner, who is still the real campaign manager, even today,” the insider revealed.
Many insiders from the President’s camp have commented on how instrumental Jared is in Trump’s political work.
ERIC TRUMP, 33
As the youngest son of Donald and his first wife Ivana, Eric has followed in his father’s footsteps when it comes to putting his foot in his mouth.
Last year, the slicked-haired businessman enraged millions when he opened up about sexual harassment in the workplace. His off-colour comments came when he was quizzed on CBS This Morning about his father’s answer to what Ivanka would hypothetically do if she came up against sexual harassment in the office.
“I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case,” Donald remarked.
His response didn’t sit well with commentators, who pointed out a victim shouldn’t have to be the one to leave the workplace.
Eric with his wife Lara Yunaska.
When questioned about his father’s divisive comments, Eric defended his claims and implied only weak women are susceptible to sexual harassment.
“Ivanka is a strong, powerful woman; she wouldn’t allow herself to be objected to it [sexual harassment]. You certainly should take it up with human resources, at the same time, I don’t think she would allow herself to be subjected to that,” Eric remarked during an appearance on CBS This Morning last year.
Just a few months later, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization dug himself in an ever deeper hole when he dismissed his father’s infamous 2005 “grab her by the pu—” comments as “locker room banter.”
“I think sometimes when guys are together they get carried away, and sometimes that’s what happens when alpha personalities are in the same presence. At the same time, I’m not saying it’s right. It’s not the person that he is,” the 33-year-old said.
WATCH: Eric Trump weighs in on sexual harassment. Post continues after the video…
Although Eric, who is married to personal trainer and producer Lara Yunaska, has an estimated networth of around $USD150 million, it turns out he’s not adverse to pinching pennies.
In October 2016, Eric was savaged on social media after a fan snapped a photo with him at In-N-Out Burger. At first glance, the photo seems harmless. However, on closer inspection it becomes clear Eric has filled up the free water cup with unpaid for lemonade.
The extreme stinginess wasn’t lost on the fan who penned next to the pic: “this is a photo of my homey grant with trumps kid at in-n-out & trumps kid is drinking lemonade outta the free water cup…”
But perhaps Eric’s biggest doozy was when his eponymous charity, The Eric Trump Foundation, reportedly siphoned off nearly a million dollars to several companies owned by his father including Donald’s golf resorts and hotel properties.
Eric coyly holds his free cup of lemonade as he poses with a fan.
TIFFANY TRUMP, 23
Donald’s youngest daughter, whose mother is Marla Maples, is no stranger to a scandal. In January, just hours after the President confirmed he would be conducting a “major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states,” reports emerged that Tiffany was in fact registered to vote in two different states.
According to Heat Street, the 23-year-old is signed up to vote in New York and Pennsylvania. While not technically illegal, the misstep is still questionable.
1“There is nothing illegal about that. The illegality only occurs if one votes in two places, not if you’re registered in both,” deputy election commissioner for Philadelphia Fred Voigt told the publication.
The aspiring popstar has been dating Ross Mechanic for over a year after meeting him at the University of Pennsylvania. The two enjoyed a romantic dance during at Armed Services Ball at the National Building Museum on Inauguration Day but interestingly, her partner apparently isn’t a Republican. According to the International Business Times, the 22-year-old has been a registered Democrat since 2012.
Tiffany has often been labelled the “forgotten Trump.”
As the lesser known daughter of Trump, the President once remarked of Tiffany: “I’m very proud [of my kids], because Don and Eric and Ivanka and – you know, to a lesser extent cause she just got out of school, out of college – but, uh, Tiffany, who has also been so terrific. They work so hard.” Ouch!
Sources have also revealed she has a complex relationship with her half-sister Ivanka. In her book The Trump Card: Playing to Win in Work and Life, Ivanka only mentions her sibling once when discussing the fact that Tiffany and her mother Marla were based in California, while Donald lived in New York. The geographic distance caused a natural divide between the siblings.
“I imagine Tiffany didn’t get to enjoy the same surprises [from Donald as we did], just by virtue of lack of proximity. All she wanted, really, was a way to enjoy some of the privileges her friends got to enjoy, in the same way she would have enjoyed them if she’d lived under our father’s roof,” Ivanka wrote.
WATCH: Tiffany Trump talks about her charmed life on Oprah. Post continues after the video…
Often referred to as “the forgotten daughter”, Tiffany, who is named after the jewellery empire, had no professional stylists on hand during her father’s campaign.
According to Vanity Fair, her big sister, who does have a glam squad, shared her best tips with Tiffany on what “colour looks best on camera.”
“Ivanka has such a brand and a personality and consistency in her Instagram. [Tiffany] is jumping into this whole process with both feet. She hasn’t polished it yet,” a friend close to singer told Vanity Fair.
In 2014, Tiffany released a heavily auto-tuned single called “Like A Bird”, which failed to fly up the charts. “I love music, it’s always been very dear to me. It’s more of a hobby but we’ll see in a couple of years if I take it to the next level,” she told Oprah in 2011.
Listen to Tiffany’s single in the player below! Post continues after the video…
Half-sisters Tiffany and Ivanka have a complex relationship but have worked through their differences.
DONALD TRUMP JUNIOR, 39
3In 2012, Donald Trump Junior landed in hot water after a series of photos of him posing next to exotic animals he had killed during a hunting trip to Zimbabwe with his brother Eric were published on TMZ.
In one shot, Donald Trump Junior holds up the severed tail of an elephant. Other animals he reportedly killed include a crocodile, kudu, waterbuck and a civet cat.
Despite the backlash, the father-of-four took to Twitter to defend his hobby.
“I have no shame about [the photos]. I HUNT & EAT game … I’m a hunter, for that I make no apologies. I can assure you it was not wasteful … the villagers were so happy for the meat which they don’t often get to eat. Very grateful.”
Donald Junior takes after his namesake in looks and personality.
“These are not endangered animals as an fyi. I don’t apologise to cater to public opinion when I did nothing wrong. To do so would be to sell myself out,” he wrote at the time.
Last year, it was Donald Junior’s stepmother Melania who made headlines for her plagiarised speech but in July, the 39-year-old was the centre of his own copyright scandal.
Eagle-eyed commentators were quick to point out distinct similarities with a speech Donald Jr. delivered on the campaign trail with an article from the American Conservative (see below).
4And just like his father, Donald Junior enjoys engaging with shock jocks and has a long history of inappropriate gaffes. In 2012, he told American radio show Opie and Anthony that political correctness meant he could no longer tease overweight people.
“By the way you can’t, you can’t even make fat jokes now without, like, there’s a whole segment of people that like, that’s almost the worst one like, it’s easier to, like, do a racial thing, than it is a fat one because everyone knows they’re fat and they get really offended,” he said.
That same year, he also made a tasteless joke about the Colorado movie shooting. After speaking to a witness on Opie and Anthony who revealed, “Rows away from me a girl gets up holding her jaw. I guess she had got shot.”
Trump quipped, “Overall I give the movie two thumbs up.”
The 39-year-old makes no apologies for his love of hunting.
