Ivanka Trump tears up over Ivana Trump, her father’s shooting and Jared Kushner’s cancer battle
Ivanka Trump broke into tears while speaking about ivana trump in a rare emotional interview on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast. The 44-year-old discussed her mother, her husband Jared Kushner’s cancer battle, and the moment she watched her father get shot in Butler, Pa., in real time while two of her children were with her. The conversation centered on grief, fear, and the family losses that still shape her life.
A raw account of loss and shock
Trump said her most painful reflection was that her three children — Arabella, Joseph, and Theo — will never know their grandmother, Ivana Trump, who died in 2022 at the age of 73. She described Ivana as “extraordinary” and said the loss still cuts deeply because it was sudden and unexpected.
She paused several times during the interview, asked for a tissue, and said the subject was hard to speak about. Trump said, “I have a lot of love for this woman, ” and added, “This doesn’t happen to me often. ”
Trump also said her own grandmother, Marie Zelníčková, known in the family as “Babi, ” lives with her family in Florida. She said Babi cooked every meal when she was growing up and called her “unbelievably nurturing. ” Trump said it is a blessing to have her in the home and to hear her tell stories about Ivana Trump for the children.
The day she watched the shooting unfold
Trump also revisited the day her father was shot in Butler, Pa., saying she was at the Trump golf club in Bedminster, N. J., with two of her children and saw the events unfold on television almost immediately. She said she felt horrified, scared, and protective of her children as she watched it happen in real time.
When her father stood back up and was escorted away by his Secret Service detail, Trump said she felt relief and believed “it wasn’t his time. ” She also said she has forgiven Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man identified by authorities as the gunman in the attack. “Forgiveness is a difficult thing in this regard, but I think you have to, ” she said.
Jared Kushner’s health battle added to the strain
The interview also touched on Jared Kushner’s battle with thyroid cancer, which added another layer of strain for the family. Trump said she turned to therapy during the period when family crises piled up close together.
She described the period as one in which “losing a parent” hit differently, especially because so many years felt lost after the pandemic. Her comments placed ivana trump at the center of a larger picture of grief that also included her husband’s health and the trauma of the shooting.
What happens next
The interview is likely to keep attention on the personal side of the Trump family, especially the impact of ivana trump’s death on her children and grandchildren. It also underscores how the Butler shooting and Kushner’s illness remain part of the family’s public story, even as Trump said she is trying to process those moments with therapy, memory, and the support of relatives in Miami and Florida.
