Ivanka Trump was once a member of the Manhattan elite, but a lot changed since she followed
her dad to Washington in 2017. Her former best friend is speaking out about the relationship
they once shared, as well as why it fizzled out.
According to journalist Lysandra Ohrstrom, a longtime friend of Ivanka Trump, the daughter
of Donald and Ivana was on top of the social order in middle school.
In a tell-all piece in Vanity Fair, Ohrstrom wrote that she met Ivanka in the seventh grade
at one of Manhattan's premiere all-girls schools, Chapin — whose alumni includes Jackie Kennedy
— and according to the writer, Ivanka ruled the halls. Ohrstrom wrote,
"After spending the previous four years in social isolation in the suburbs, I was eager
to land on the popular side of the classroom, ruled over by Ivanka and about five other
wild, entitled, precocious preteens."
Ohrstrom said that Donald Trump once asked her if Ivanka was the prettiest girl in school
-- a question she initially took as a joke. She wrote,
"Before I learned that the Trumps have no sense of humor about themselves, I remember
answering honestly that she was probably in the top five."
That reportedly elicited some badgering questions from the older Trump, who interrogated her
about which girl at the school could possibly be more attractive.
Ohrstrom also claimed that outside of questions about Ivanka, Donald Trump would barely acknowledge
her, with one exception. She says the future President would usually congratulate her if
he noticed that she'd lost any weight.
Ivanka Trump and Lysandra Ohrstrom were best friends for over ten years, to the extent
that she described their relationship as "more sisters than best friends."
However, eventually the connection between the two women began to crumble, and things
seemed to bubble up to the surface around the time that Ivanka got married to Jared
Kushner.
She wrote,
"In 2009, shortly after I was one of two maids of honor in Ivanka's wedding, our friendship
finally broke under the weight of our differences."
The day after their wedding, Ohrstrom started a new job in an unfamiliar field of work.
She expected her friend to ask how it was going, but over the course of the following
weeks, she said Ivanka never did.
When Ohrstrom reached out via text message, Ivanka reportedly responded with a reply that
had the tone of "I don't have time for this" — not exactly the kind of vibe you'd like
to get from your so-called closest friend.
Ivanka Trump and her father spent their D.C. years trying to cultivate an image of advocating
for America's working class. But according to Lysandra Ohrstrom, Ivanka's true thoughts
about people less fortunate than her is far from sympathetic.
She recalled one episode in which a casual book recommendation seemed to bring out Ivanka's
true colors, writing,
"I had recently recommended Empire Falls, Richard Russo's 2001 Pulitzer Prize–winning
novel about the life of a diner manager in a working-class community in Maine. 'Ly, why
would you tell me to read a book about f---ing poor people?' I remember Ivanka saying. 'What
part of you thinks I would be interested in this?'"
Talk about a different tone.
Donald Trump has been accused of having a temper — think of his banned social media
accounts and the boisterousness of his rallies.
However, Ivanka Trump, for a while, had a different approach. As Lysandra Ohrstrom described,
Ivanka brought "a more refined" sense to the Trump name, and wasn't known for being so
bombastic. But, according to Ohrstrom, times have changed. She wrote,
"When Ivanka joined her dad's administration, I was sure she would step in to moderate her
father's most regressive, racist tendencies [...] I've watched as Ivanka has laid waste
to the image she worked so hard to build."
Ohrstrom added that she's talked to many of Ivanka's school friends about how appalled
they are about Ivanka's public silence regarding many of Trump's more inflammatory policies.
But for the most part, the members of that social circle have remained publicly silent
on the topic.
That's arguably with good reason, as the repercussions of publicly criticizing a Trump have proven
themselves to be very real. The Trump White House had a steady revolving door of those
who'd been hired and fired, and critics of the president and his family have largely
been humiliated.
The saying goes "Like father, like daughter," and that certainly seems to be the case for
Donald and Ivanka Trump. According to Lysandra Ohrstrom, Ivanka in her school days had a
tendency to communicate to her teachers that they had never witnessed a student so talented
as her.
She reportedly always looked put together, made a habit of swearing, enjoyed McDonald's
cheeseburgers, and, quote, "had the Trump radar for status, money, and power, and her
dad's instinct to throw others under the bus to save herself."
"The fact is that I'm absolutely, you know, proud to be a Trump. I'm proud of my family
name and I’m proud of everything they've ever done and ever accomplished."
Of course, the close relationship between Ivanka and her father is not groundbreaking
news, as The Donald has made it fairly clear that Ivanka is his favorite child. And that
relationship is somewhat transactional.
As noted by writer McKay Coppins, writing for The Atlantic in 2019,
"Ivanka's favorite-child status had long been tied to the good press she generated for her
dad."
For that article, Coppins spoke to former White House aide Cliff Sims, who explained,
"For [Donald] Trump, everything comes back to optics. She is the archetype of what he
wants — the most beautiful face, the most buttoned-up message, everything just exactly
the way it should be."
Many people have a toxic best friend story, and for Lysandra Ohrstrom, that toxic best
friend was arguably Ivanka Trump.
As she wrote in Vanity Fair, Ohrstrom indicated that Ivanka made a habit of threatening her
social standing, all while she was trying to navigate a tumultuous environment as a
journalist in a foreign country. She recalled,
"While Ivanka was laying the foundation for her conquest of Manhattan, I was experiencing
a new reality in Lebanon [...] During my first two-year stint in Beirut, Ivanka regularly
emailed me messages like, 'When are you getting your ass back to NYC? You're going to be replaced.'"
She added that Ivanka never asked her how she was doing, even when she likely knew her
friend was at the time contacting her from a literal war zone.
To put it lightly, the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict is far too complicated of a topic
for us to get into. Suffice to say, there are heated opinions on both sides of the issue.
It's the kind of topic in which differing opinions can tear apart families and ruin
friendships, and according to Lysandra Ohrstrom, that's exactly what happened between her and
Ivanka Trump.
Ivanka famously converted to Judaism before marrying Jared Kushner, and things subsequently
got complicated for her and Ohrstrom. She wrote in Vanity Fair,
"She had started dating Jared Kushner, whose family was Orthodox Jewish, and my pro-Palestinian
stance began to chafe. Since 2007, I've worn a necklace with my name written in Arabic,
and Ivanka grew increasingly irritated by it. Sometimes, she would randomly say, 'I
hate that thing.'"
It came to a head one night when Ivanka allegedly chastised Ohrstrom for wearing the necklace,
suggesting it might even be offensive to her own boyfriend, who was Jewish.. According
to Ohrstrom, Ivanka said,
“How can you wear that thing? It just screams, ‘terrorist.’”
We truly don't know how to respond to that.
We shamelessly love the UK's royal family — there's no denying it. Any sighting of
Prince William and Kate Middleton, count us in — we'll be there.
But Lysandra Ohrstrom describing Ivanka Trump and her family as "American royalty" doesn't
seem to have the same affectionate undertones, compared to the way people profess their love
for the British royals.
Speaking about Ivanka's emerging practice of taking her children on stage with her for
Trump rallies, Ohrstrom said,
"Aligning herself with her dad's banana republic-style administration made no sense to me, until
my friend suggested that Ivanka took her kids to the rally to show them that they are American
royalty."
Of course, not everyone outside of Ivanka's family agrees. Ohrstrom scorched Ivanka by
referring to her less as royalty and more as someone who, quote, "suddenly appoints
herself to the role of unelected public official and begins to torch democracy."
Ouch.
New York City is one of the best places in the world, and Ivanka Trump grew up with the
Big Apple at her fingertips. It's no surprise, then, that she's reportedly craving the acceptance
of Manhattan high society once again.
However, the only problem, according to Lysandra Ohrstrom, is that the New York scene allegedly
doesn't want her back. In the view of her former best friend, the family has gone too
far to be welcomed back to their old stomping grounds. As she wrote,
"I miss the time when the Trump family quest for power was not dangerous to the country."
Ohrstrom also speculated that Ivanka will most likely find a new home in Palm Beach,
where she estimated that, quote, "most misdeeds are forgiven if you have enough money." And
it looks as though other members of the Trump family will retreat to Florida to "lie low"
after the chaos that's ensnared Washington, D.C. According to People, Melania Trump was
spotted in Florida in December 2020, checking out potential schools for her son, Barron.
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