US election: meet House of Trump: ‘Subtlety is not our strength’
from The Australian today

What will the White House look like once the Trumps move in? Photoshoppers are already having a field day, depicting the gracious building with a flashing casino sign out front shouting “TRUMP”, or showing the Lincoln Bedroom with a new, mirrored ceiling.

Fair enough, too: Trump flamboyance has been a key part of his business success. He uses razzle-dazzle to attract attention and publicity for his various projects, which in turn brings in the cash.

It would be simple to mock his garish taste, just as the Clintons were mocked as hillbillies when they moved from Arkansas, but what are the Trumps actually like? There are some obvious themes.

First up, they like kids. Trump was one of five children. He has five children. One of his sons has five children. Daughter Ivanka has three, and they’re Jewish — more about that in a minute.

They like real estate: Trump’s father was a property developer. Trump is a property developer. Sons Donald Jr and Eric are property developers, as is son-in-law Jar­ed Kushner, whose dad Charles was, yes, a property developer who went to jail for tax evasion.

They also like modelling: Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, is a former model; his current wife is a former model; his first wife, Ivana, was a model; his second wife, Marla Maples (whose dad was a property developer) was a model; his son, Donald Jr the property developer, is married to a model. Beyond that, how does the family tree break down?

The Parents

Trump’s father, Fred Trump, was the son of German immigrants who made a fortune in real estate. One of his tenants was folk singer Woody Guthrie, who wrote a ballad called Old Man Trump, in which he accused Trump Sr of ­racism for refusing to allow black tenants to live in his buildings.

Trump’s mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was a Scottish immigrant who arrived in New York the day after her 18th birthday. ­According to her immigration documents, she was penniless and seeking work as a domestic.


The couple married in 1936 and had five children. One of Trump’s sisters, Elizabeth, grew up to become a banker; his other sister, Maryanne, is a retired judge who served on the US Court of Appeals. His brother, Robert, served as a top Trump executive; another brother, Fred, died of alcoholism in 1981 aged 43, and this is why Trump doesn’t drink (his wife, Melania, doesn’t drink either). Trump went to the University of Pennsylvania where he got an economics degree. In 1971, he took over his dad’s business. He built Trump Tower in 1982 and in 2004 first starred in a show called The Apprentice, which gave him his catchphrase: “You’re fired!”

The Wives

No 1: Trump married Czech fashion model Ivana Zelnickova in 1977 and they had three children: Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric. The couple divorced in 1992.

No 2: Marla Maples, with whom he has a daughter Tiffany, who is named for the 5th Avenue jewellery shop. They later divorced.

No 3: Melania Knauss, who came to the US to work … as a model.

The Children

Asked to praise one aspect of her opponent, Hillary Clinton during the second presidential candidate’s debate said: “I respect his children. His children are incredibly able and devoted, and I think that says a lot about Donald.”

So who are they?

1. Donald Jr, 38, is Trump’s oldest child with Ivana Trump. He is an executive vice-president of the Trump Organisation married to former model Vanessa Haydon, and they have five children: Kai, Chloe, Donald, Tristan and Spencer. Donald Jr is the one who got into trouble for referring to Syrian refugees as Skittles: “If I had a bowl of Skittles and I told you just three would kill you, would you take a handful? That’s our Syrian refugee problem.”

2. Ivanka, 35, is a successful businesswoman, married to Harvard-educated real estate mogul Jared Kushner. They married after a date on a yacht owned by Rupert Murdoch and then wife Wendi Deng. Ivanka and Kushner have three children — Arabella, Joseph and Theodore — and live on Park Avenue. They comprise the Jewish branch of the Trump family: Ivanka converted before marriage and takes her religion extremely seriously. According to a profile in The New Yorker this year, she undertook extensive study of the Torah, appeared before a three-judge religious panel and took the Hebrew name Yael. Her parents-in-law were the largest donors to Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign; her father-in-law did time for tax evasion. Ivanka has a clothing, jewellery and cosmetics line said to be worth $US100 million. Trump has done a bit to embarrass her, telling radio star Howard Stern that she’s “got the best body … If she weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her”. Ivanka also markets Trump’s buildings, often under the slogan: “Subtlety is not our strength.”

3. Eric, 32, is married to CBS producer Lara Yunaska. He manages the Trump Winery and oversees his father’s 18 golf resorts.

4. Tiffany, 23, is Trump’s daughter with Maples. She is very quiet, speaking just once during the campaign, but she was there when he claimed victory and seemed pretty pleased.

5. Barron, 10, is the adorable, sleepy son viewers saw on stage after his dad’s victory.

Read the thrilling rest of the Trump adulation here

his taste is awful... they took us inside his home once.. not sure where it was.. probably Trump Tower but the decor was bad.. I think chandeliers. in the loos no less.. god awful   put Michael Jackson in the shade.. lucky for the yanks I dont think they can change much.. mind you his new wife may have more taste..... it couldnt be worse than marlas..lolol

Definitely the most interesting thing to happen politically for ages. It will be with great expectation that we wait to see just if Trump will deliver on his promise to make America great again. He'll need to crush creeping liberalism and idiotic 3rd wave feminism, and I dont like his chances. I hope he grabs this win by the pwssy.