ivana trump was at the center of a rare emotional interview in which Ivanka Trump spoke through tears about the loss of her mother, the strain of her husband Jared Kushner’s cancer battle, and the shock of watching her father be shot in Butler, Pa., in real time. The conversation took place on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast, where Trump described the emotional weight of several family crises that hit hard and close to home. Her comments focused on grief, fear, and the lasting impact of events that shaped her family’s recent years.
Ivanka Trump opens up about grief, fear, and loss
Trump said the most painful part of losing her mother was knowing that her three children, Arabella, Joseph, and Theo, will not get to know Ivana Trump. She grew emotional while speaking about the women who raised and influenced her, including her maternal grandmother, Marie Zelníčková, whom the family calls “Babi. ”
Trump said Babi lives with the family in Florida and described her as nurturing, saying she cooked every meal and helped raise her and her brothers, Don Jr. and Eric. She said it is a blessing to have her in the home and that Babi’s stories help keep Ivana Trump’s memory present for the children.
At one point, Trump paused to compose herself and asked for a tissue after the podcast host asked if she was okay. She said, “I have a lot of love for this woman, ” adding that “this doesn’t happen to me often. ”
How ivana trump still shapes the family
Trump described Ivana Trump as extraordinary and said the loss still lands heavily because it was unexpected. She said, “Losing a parent. It hits differently, you know, especially unexpectedly, ” adding that the period after the pandemic made that kind of loss even harder to process.
She also recalled that her husband Jared Kushner’s thyroid cancer battle added to the strain. Trump said she turned to therapy during that period, describing it as a way to cope with back-to-back personal crises that arrived within weeks of each other.
She said her mother taught her about intention and gratitude, and she became tearful again while looking at photos from her childhood. “She lived a good life, ” Trump said. “She was very joyful. ”
The day she saw her father shot in real time
Trump also spoke about being with two of her children when Donald Trump was shot in Butler, Pa. She said she was at the Trump golf club in Bedminster, N. J., when televisions showed the attack almost immediately.
She said she was horrified and scared, and that her first instinct was to protect her children. When her father stood up and was escorted away by Secret Service, she said she felt relief and believed, “I just knew it wasn’t his time. ”
Trump said she has forgiven the man identified by authorities as the gunman in the attack, calling forgiveness difficult but necessary in that moment. She added that her father’s survival was a blessing.
What happens next for the family
The interview offered a rare public look at how closely grief, fear, and family memory remain tied together for Ivanka Trump. With ivana trump still present in the stories told at home, and the memory of the Butler shooting still fresh, Trump’s comments suggested that these events continue to shape how the family talks about loss and survival.
For now, the emotional aftermath appears unresolved in the way such moments often are: privately, repeatedly, and with new meaning each time they are revisited. In that sense, ivana trump remains part of the family’s daily life, even after her death.
