Corporal punishment. Political ambitions.
Questionable charitable donations. Not something you typically associate with funerals – but,
nevertheless, all topics that came up when Ivana Trump, first wife of Donald Trump,
was laid to rest. Here are the darkest moments that no one expected.
After the cause of Ivana Trump's tragic death was revealed, Twitter lit up with conspiracy theories
about the injuries she suffered. The New York City medical examiner determined that the 73-year-old
fell down a staircase at her residence in Manhattan and suffered blunt force injuries
to her upper body, per TMZ. Later, Extra shared footage of Ivana slowly and carefully ascending
the steep, winding stairs in 2004, but some skeptics questioned the medical examiner's
conclusion that her fall was accidental. NBCUniversal exec Mike Sington tweeted,
"I'm no fan of Ivana Trump, she was complicit in Donald Trump's business crimes,
but I think a more thorough investigation of her untimely death needs to be done.
Notice the family has been silent on demanding a thorough investigation."
Author Sarah J. Kendzior also mentioned Ivana's ex-husband when explaining why so
many people were quick to suspect that foul play was involved in her death.
She wrote in a thread that included examples of such behavior,
"Trump has been implicated in many actual, provable conspiracies:
fraud schemes, attempted coups, mafia plots, etc."
After the circumstances surrounding Ivana's death
caused a great deal of dark speculation on social media,
reports on her funeral painted a bleak picture of the way the businesswoman was memorialized.
Ivana Trump's funeral was held at St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church on July 20th.
The New York Times reported that the seats inside the church weren't even half filled,
while the New York Post estimated that there were about 100 people in attendance.
The Times noted there weren't many recognizable faces among those paying their respects,
but there was a group that commanded attention: Ivana's second husband and their three children,
Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump. The Trump kids all eulogized their mother,
with Don Jr. recalling how she once called him and offered to let him live with her to
escape the public spectacle of his family's political career. He said.
"That call was simultaneously the sweetest and most emasculating thing ever."
While sharing his childhood memories of his mother,
Don Jr. recalled being on the receiving end of corporal punishment more than once,
saying that he learned, quote, "what Eastern European discipline was really all about" when
he misbehaved at a restaurant and was dragged into the restroom by Ivana. He also reminisced about
how she spanked him with a "wooden spoon" after Ivanka blamed him for something she actually did.
The somber-faced Trumps posed for cameras after the funeral. In a video shared on Twitter,
a Donald supporter can be heard urging the ex-president to run in 2024, and Eric Trump raises
a fist in response. One viewer's reaction read, "So inappropriate and disrespectful!"
Donald Trump's presence loomed large at Ivana Trump's funeral and was questioned
by some Twitter users who recalled Ivana's allegations of sexual assault. Harry Hurt
III references them in his book "Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump," writing
that Ivana made the accusations during a divorce trial deposition. Ivana walked the claims back
after her ex-husband launched his presidential bid in 2015. She said in a statement to CNN,
"The story is totally without merit. Donald and I are the best of friends ... Incidentally,
I think he would make an incredible president."
Trump's political ambitions seemed to come into play when it came time to create the two large
tributes to Ivana's life that flanked the altar at her memorial service. Per the New York Post, one
of the images in a gilded frame was a Vanity Fair cover from 1992 that featured a photo of Ivana and
the words "Ivana Be a Star." In that same issue, there was a story about Donald's Democratic
rival during the 2016 presidential election, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The magazine teased the Clinton profile in the corner of the cover. "Hillary Clinton: Will she
get to the White House with Bill or without him?" a small red banner read. But as Variety critic
Daniel D'Addario noted on Twitter, the banner was edited out of the display at Ivana's funeral.
Instead of floral arrangements from friends and loved ones, Ivana Trump's gold-hued casket was
surrounded by red roses, per the New York Post. As People explained, the Trump family
requested mourners donate money to the charity Big Dog Ranch Rescue in lieu of sending flowers.
Some Twitter users noted that Eric Trump's wife, Lara Trump, has been tied to the nonprofit,
and in 2021, HuffPost reported it was seemingly being used to line the Trump family's pockets.
Per the outlet's findings, Big Dog Ranch Rescue spent almost $2 million at various
Trump properties, including Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club and his nearby golf course
in Florida. In 2018, the charity reportedly listed Lara as a chair of its fundraisers.
It's unclear whether Ivana requested the charitable donations herself before her death,
but according to People, Ivanka Trump seemed to suggest that her mother might
not have been on board with the idea of a traditional memorial service at all.
She informed funeral goers, quote, "my mother hated funerals." But perhaps no eulogy was darker
than that of the Trump children's former nanny, Dorothy Curry. According to The New York Times,
Curry seemingly suggested Ivana was lonely and falling prey to the wrong people. She said,
"Ivana, we have reached out to you many, many times, but obviously we didn't reach
out far enough. We all basically let go and let God, and now you are totally in God's hands."
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