Tiffany Trump joined her older siblings in Cleveland to support her father, President Donald Trump, as he faced Joe Biden in the first of three presidential debates.
Tiffany Trump flew with the rest of the family on Air Force One for the trip to Ohio, according to CNN. She was spotted boarding the plane along with Donald Trump Jr., Kim Guilfoyle, Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump.
Tiffany Trump and her sister-in-law posed for a selfie before getting on the plane. Lara Trump shared the picture on her Instagram Stories, which showed Tiffany Trump wearing a pink blazer. But as she entered the venue for the start of the debate, Tiffany Trump was wearing a black dress.
Viewers may have been curious to see whether Tiffany Trump would do or say anything to set social media buzzing, as has happened before. An awkward moment between Trump and her father after a debate in 2016 was caught on live television and went viral (more on that below). In February 2019, Trump also grabbed attention when she wore white to her father’s State of the Union address. Women in the Democratic party have worn white to recent SOTU addresses as a show of unity, according to TIME. Trump’s outfit drew speculation about whether she also was trying to send a message.
Tiffany Trump Appeared to Dodge a Kiss From Her Father Following a 2016 Debate
Trump created a stir on social media following the second presidential debate in 2016. After her father and Hillary Clinton had finished duking it out during the town hall debate in St. Louis, Missouri, Donald Trump greeted wife Melania Trump and his adult children on stage.
TV cameras were still broadcasting live coverage from the venue as Donald Trump moved to greet Tiffany Trump. In a clip shared on Twitter, he appeared to touch her arm as he leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. But before he could do so, Tiffany Trump leaned her head backward out of the way. She was laughing and may have been addressing someone standing off-camera. She then rubbed her father’s shoulder and smiled at him in greeting as Donald Trump turned his attention to son-in-law Jared Kushner, who approached the group at that moment.
As the Hill reported at the time, the awkward moment appeared to confirm speculation that Tiffany Trump and her father did not have a close relationship. Tiffany Trump’s mother, Marla Maples, raised her primarily on her own on the west coast, Maples told People in 2016.
The split-second moment between Tiffany Trump and her father also attracted attention because of what else was going on in the headlines at the time. This debate took place on October 9, 2016, just a couple of days after the Washington Post released the now-infamous Access Hollywood tape. Donald Trump was caught on a hot microphone in 2005 bragging to Billy Bush that because he was a star, he could “do anything” he wanted with women. “I’ve got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.” Trump apologized after the tape was released and described his language as “locker-room banter.”
Some people on social media referenced the 2005 tape when commenting on Tiffany Trump’s apparent duck away from him. One person wrote, “She doesn’t like the flavor of Trump’s Tic Tacs.” Another wrote, “She knows what HIS kisses can lead to. #CrotchGrabber.” Another remarked, “i’d love to get a psychologist’s take on that little maneuver.”
The comments also included plenty of statements from viewers who thought Tiffany Trump’s move had been accidental. One person said, “she was laughing at someone behind her. This is stupid.” Another person dismissed the crude jokes that popped up on the thread, writing, “You ppl have sick minds to be assuming sick things.”
Samantha Cohen Recently Claimed Tiffany Trump Disagrees With Her Father’s Policies & Has Been Putting on a Show to Gain His Approval
Samantha Cohen, the daughter of Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, recently made headlines when she shared her opinion of Trump’s daughters with Vanity Fair. Cohen said she and Tiffany Trump spent time together as teenagers and had been close friends while they were both students at the University of Pennsylvania but that they are no longer on speaking terms.
Cohen told the magazine she believes Tiffany Trump spoke on her father’s behalf at the Republican National Convention because she is seeking the attention she did not get as a child from him:
This isn’t anything she’s explicitly said to me, but it can’t be easy being made to feel your entire life like you’re unwanted. I won’t speak to her now, but if I could, I would say something. When I see her speaking at the RNC, I know there’s no way she believes that sh*t. She has friends who are gay. She’s an Ivy League-educated woman. There’s no way that she thinks that any of this is a good idea, and her dad treated her like sh*t her whole life.
She never really got the perks of being a Trump kid before. But this is how and when she wants it? Being part of the most hated family in America?
In the Vanity Fair interview, Cohen took aim at Ivanka Trump. She described Ivanka Trump’s behavior toward her as “phony and gross.” Michael Cohen also claimed in his book Disloyal: A Memoir that Ivanka Trump treated Tiffany Trump with “casual cruelty” and that the older Trump siblings called Tiffany Trump the “red-haired stepchild.”
Donald Trump confirmed a strain between Tiffany Trump and his older children during a 2005 interview with radio host Howard Stern. According to tapes obtained by Newsweek, Donald Trump admitted that Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump had tried to “bump” Tiffany Trump from receiving her fair share of the inheritance.
But Tiffany Trump has taken to social media to express love for her father. In June, she shared photos of her and Donald Trump in the Oval Office as well as a picture of herself as a baby resting on her father’s chest. Tiffany Trump wrote, “Happy Father’s Day Dad! @realdonaldtrump I love you and I’m so grateful for you! Thank you for your constant love, guidance and for always believing in me!”
Tiffany Trump Made a Call for Bipartisanship in the Wake of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Death
Tiffany Trump’s Instagram and Twitter accounts were quiet for more than a week leading up to the first presidential debate. But on September 18, the day Ruth Bader Ginsburg died after a long battle with cancer, Tiffany Trump paid homage to the longtime Supreme Court Justice. She also used the moment to call for bipartisanship and cooperation by commenting on RBG’s deep friendship with the late Justice Antonin Scalia:
Thank you, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for being a trailblazer for women in the legal field, a pioneer for women and gender equality, and for showing that patriotism hinges not on agreement, but on the unwavering commitment to persevere, to listen, to learn, and to develop together.
Justice Ginsburg, an icon of the left, and Justice Scalia, an icon of the right, were great friends- regardless of their different ideologies.
Ginsburg admired Scalia for his love of the constitution and his fierce devotion to defend it how he believed was intended. Ginsburg often disagreed with his jurisprudence, but she too sought to defend the Constitution how she believed it was intended to by the founders. Scalia once even gave Ginsburg an advance notice of his dissent so Ginsburg could make her majority opinion better.
What both understood about each other was that, despite their vast differences of opinion, they shared a truly unique bond – that of dedicating their life to advancing this country.
May we learn from your devout commitment to justice so that we, too, may find extraordinary (and perhaps surprising) friendships among our fellow Americans, and continue your work to build a better and more just nation. #RBG #RIP
Donald Trump also had kind words for Ginsburg upon learning that she had died. He told reporters, “She led an amazing life. What else can you say? She was an amazing woman. Whether you agree or not, she was an amazing woman who led an amazing life.” He added that he was “sad to hear” about her death.
READ NEXT: Debate Moderator Chris Wallace Is the Son of Iconic ’60 Minutes’ Reporter Mike Wallace