What to Know
A resurfaced clip is raising concerns about Ivanka Trump’s childhood. Since President Donald Trump entered politics, the video has resurfaced several times, making people wonder if something happened to Ivanka when she was young that the family has never spoken about.
The clip is from a 2003 documentary called Born Rich, so Ivanka would’ve been in her early twenties at the time it was made.
In it, Ivanka walks viewers through her childhood bedroom.
At first, there’s really nothing out of the ordinary — other than the fact that Ivanka, now 44, said no one had even set foot in the room in the past 10 or so years. She described her childhood room as a “time capsule,” and pointed to several nostalgic items she used to decorate it, like a Madonna clock, 90210 posters, and a Bon Jovi poster. As she spoke, she seemed bubbly and happy.
But when Ivanka started talking about her bed, viewers noticed a subtle shift in her overall demeanor. “This was my bed,” she said, gesturing to it and pointing out how small it was. To many people online, something seems off and chilling about the old video. “The way her voice quietened when she said ‘my bed,'” one person on TikTok observed. Another noted that Ivanka “genuinely looks traumatized being back there.” A third person thought Ivanka looked like she was “about to burst into tears,” while someone else said, “My heart breaks for her.”
Of course, this is all speculation, but people expressed similar concerns when someone shared the clip on Reddit this month. The person who shared the clip noted that Ivanka seemingly “almost cries” as she speaks about her bed.
Something about that moment stands out, for sure.
@libertydemocrat Knowing what her dad did, it’s heartbreaking to watch this now #trump #fypシ #foryou #leftisttiktok #democrat ♬ original sound FreedomDemocrat
Some of the people who watched the resurfaced clip said that the suggestion seemed like a stretch, and that Ivanka maybe “withdrew for a sec” but did not appear to cry. Still, for many, the emotional moment felt jarring and concerning, and seemed to signal that something was very wrong. Perhaps a big reason why it’s resurfaced so often is because it’s a rare moment of apparent vulnerability without any strategic PR.
“The contrast she makes from bubbly before the bed, to strained when talking about the bed is definitely there,” one person argued.
While many assumed the worst, a few people offered alternative theories, like maybe Ivanka was just emotional because of the nostalgia. Regardless, people seemed convinced that we would never get an explanation. If something traumatic really did happen to Ivanka during her childhood, one person argued, the Trump family would likely “demand it kept quiet for the ‘reputation of the family,'” which people found heartbreaking.
