Donald Trump’s ex-wife Ivana Trump has been branded a ‘bigoted embarrassment’ for her ‘disturbing’ comments on US immigration today.
Czech-born businesswoman Ivana, 71, who lives in New York, married Donald Trump in 1977, and while the pair divorced in 1990, the former model claims she is able to speak to the president at ‘any time’.
Appearing on morning show Loose Women, Ivana – who is herself a legal immigrant to the US – said she is ‘very proud’ of her former partner, particularly for ‘all he has achieved with immigration’, insisting that all who migrate to America should ‘enter legally’.
She then went on to rant about US immigrants ‘not dressing Americanly’ once in the country, while accusing some of ‘not having a job, stealing, and raping American women’.
Ivana grew up in Czechoslovakia and moved to Canada in September 1973. She met Trump at a modeling event in New York City in 1976, and they married in April 1977.
The couple’s first son, Donald Trump Jr, was born later that year in December. They welcomed their daughter Ivanka in 1981 and then their son Eric in 1984.
All three of the children were born in New York, making them US citizens; Ivana was legally living in the country at the time, but she didn’t become a US citizen until 1988, although she was eligible for naturalization and citizenship three years after tying the knot with Trump.
During her interview, Ivana addressed her own move to the US, insisting that she ‘has no problem with immigrants’ if they enter the country legally, pay taxes, and ‘be a part of society’ – while suggesting that those who travel to the US illegally all become involved in criminal activities.
Her comments left viewers outraged, with one calling the outburst ‘disturbing’, while another called the mother-of-three an ’embarrassing bigot’.
When asked whether she is proud of her ex husband, she said: ‘Very proud, he was my husband of 15 years, I wish him all the best.
‘I see he can do a great job, he is pro everything which I believe in. He is Republican and so am I. He has achieved so much – especially with immigration.
‘I am an immigrant, and I have no problem with the immigrants, but they must come into the country legally and get a job and pay taxes like the rest of the Americans and just live and and be part of society.
‘There are some people who don’t even dress Americanly, they dress whatever they dress in and they don’t get a job and they steal and they rape the women and that is not the idea.’
When asked whether she felt her view on immigration could be perceived as inhumane, she went on: ‘It is inhumane, but everybody has to pick themselves up.
‘They have to properly, apply for the visa so they can come to America and cross the border properly and get a job, have a house, start a family.’
Host Jane Moore interjected: ‘But those opportunities are very few and far between nowadays aren’t they?’
‘They are, but the people who will prevail, the people who want to work will prevail, the people who want to get food stamps and sleep on the benches, this is what we don’t want,’ Ivana insisted.
Viewers were quick to take to Twitter to rage at the conversation, with one writing: ‘Ivana Trump omg!! Her remarks on immigration absolutely disturbing.’
Another said: ‘Ivana Trump on @loosewomen just now saying immigrants don’t even ‘dress American and they steal and rape the woman’ comes as a massive shock (NOT!!) that she’s a bigoted embarrassment just like her ex husband.’
During the interview, Ivana was asked how often she is able to speak with the president, with whom she has three children Eric, 36, Ivanka, 38, and Donald Jr., 42.
She replied: ‘I can speak to him any time.’
Ivana revealed that while she and Donald had a rocky relationship following their divorce, they have since become ‘very good friends’.
‘It took about two years until our prenuptial agreement was finalised and we split whatever we had to split,’ she said.
‘We spoke about our kids – we have three wonderful kids to raise. They needed people to look after them and guide them and so after that we became very good friends.’
However, she admitted that she never speaks to his current wife Melania, 50, who she referred to as his ‘ex wife’, because she doesn’t like to be ‘involved with his private life’.
‘I speak directly to Mr President,’ said Ivana, ‘I don’t get involved with his private life, we speak about our children but I don’t give him advice. I tell him what I think is right and wrong but we don’t speak about ex wives.’
When asked whether she felt Melania is a good First Lady, she said: ‘I am not sure, she’s very quiet and she doesn’t go to too many places. She goes when she has to go but she’s quiet.’
Ivana was also asked if her daughter Ivanka could follow in her father’s footsteps and become president one day, and she insisted it is certainly a possibility as far as she is concerned.
‘Definitely,’ she said, adding: ‘I think she’s in the White House every day, she’s next to her father every day, she knows all that is going around… I think she could be one day the first woman president, definitely. She’s smart as hell, she’s beautiful.’