Melania & Tiffany Trump's Relationship Is An Especially Tough One To Decode

Within the Trump family tree, there are a lot of close connections — ties to the family business and the presidency in particular. But one that doesn't get talked about a lot is Melania and Tiffany Trump's relationship, and maybe because it's so difficult to describe.

Unlike her older siblings, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric, who are products of Donald's first marriage to Ivana Trump, Tiffany is the only child of Donald and Marla Maples. Perhaps due to being somewhat younger — at 24, she is a full 10 years younger than Eric, the next youngest — Tiffany has always seemed somewhat disconnected from her older siblings in the Trump family business.

Donald Jr. is currently the face of the Trump Organization, serving as executive vice president of development and acquisitions, and Eric also serves as an executive vice president at the company. Before becoming an adviser to the president Ivanka also held the role of — you guessed it — executive vice president at the Trump Organization.

Tiffany, on the other hand, graduated in 2016 from her father's alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, and is currently pursuing a law degree at Georgetown. She doesn't have formal ties within the Trump Organization, and perhaps as a result, tabloids and profiles of her and her siblings have branded her the "forgotten Trump."

“I'm very proud because Don and Eric and Ivanka and — you know, to a lesser extent 'cause she just got out of school, out of college — but, uh, Tiffany, who has also been so terrific. They work so hard,” Donald told Fox News on Election Day 2016.

Sound like anyone else we know? Melania, who is Donald's third wife, has similarly remained somewhat out of the spotlight. During a telephone interview with Fox & Friends on the first lady's birthday, Donald even admitted he was too busy to get her a present. "You know, I'm very busy to be running out looking for presents, OK?" he said.

It's conceivable that being seemingly relegated to the shadows might have brought Tiffany and Melania together, but the evidence around that is murky. On Melania's birthday, Tiffany dedicated an Instagram story to her stepmother, captioned, "Happy Birthday @flotus Love you!" Tiffany was also seen greeting Melania with a friendly blown kiss on Easter morning.

Tiffany has been appearing with the rest of the Trump family at White House Events, including the annual turkey pardon and Easter egg roll, and the State of the Union, which means she and the first lady have had ample opportunities to spend time with one another.

In a 2016 interview with Harper's Bazaar, the first lady described her relationship with Donald's adult children as friendly. "They are grown-up," she said. "I don't see myself as their mother. I am their friend, and I'm here when they need me."

But while Tiffany appears to be very close to her own mother, it's unclear the extent to which she's taken advantage of Melania's offer of friendship.