It’s been six days since Ivana Trump, the ex-wife of the former President Donald Trump, died suddenly [1] at 73 after falling down the stairs of her Manhattan townhouse. Now, Trump himself is speaking out to pay tribute to the mother of his oldest three children.
“I’m here. I’m in New York,” Trump told The New York Post [2] after returning to New York City for Ivana’s funeral, which is set to take place today. “I’m feeling OK. I had some rest. A little sleep. But I’m sad.”
“She was beautiful. She was special,” Trump said of Ivana. “She was outstanding. Beautiful inside and out. We began all of it, our lives together, with such a great relationship.”
When asked what Ivana’s greatest quality was, Trump replied by saying, “That she was different. That she never gave up. Beautiful, yes, but she was also a hard worker. No matter how rough things were or how badly they looked she never fell down. She went from communism to our lives together. She took nothing for granted.”
Trump was then asked about the state of America today.
“It’s horrible. We’ve never been at such a low point,” he said. “That trip to Saudi Arabia? We have more oil than they have. This man in Washington is setting us all back. Setting everybody back.””
“Look, let’s us just manage to get through this awful painful experience,” he continued. “And after this . . . just remember . . . just remember what I’m telling you . . . 78 is not old.”
Trump will be 78 in 2024, when the next presidential election is set to take place. While he has said that he has already made his decision about whether or not he will run, Trump has yet to announce it publicly.
Ivana died last Thursday of blunt force injuries after falling down the stairs of her Manhattan townhouse. Her funeral is set to take place this afternoon at St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
“We all want to remember Ivana as the vibrant, sociable person she was,” R. Couri Hay, a longtime friend of Ivana’s who plans to attend the service, told ABC News. [3]
Ivana and Trump were married from 1977 until 1992, and they had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. While their public divorce got ugly at times, they reconciled afterwards, and she was an enthusiastic supporter of his when he successfully ran for president back in 2016.
“I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City,” Trump said in a statement [4] hours after her death. “She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life.”
“Her pride and joy were her three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric,” he continued. “She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her. Rest In Peace, Ivana!”
Trump and his wife Melania are currently in New York City to attend Ivana’s funeral later today. Please join us in saying a prayer for the entire Trump family on this very difficult day.