Ivanka Trump’s “first crush” was a man who became one of her dad’s most prominent critics.
Eric Trump revealed in his new book, Under Siege, that his older sister used to have a signed poster of Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose in her room inside Trump Tower as a teenager.
“She had a signed Axl Rose poster in her room in Trump Tower—her first crush, with tattoos, the trademark bandanna tied around his head, ripped jeans, and leather jacket,” he wrote.
Eric said the memory of Ivanka’s infatuation with Rose came to him as his family flew from Michigan back to Palm Beach in the early hours of Election Day last year. He said Trump Force One was “blasting” music on the trip home, including November Rain by Guns N’ Roses.
Ivanka, 43, was a teenager well after Guns N’ Roses’ popularity peaked. She graduated from high school in 2000, 12 years after the band released hit songs like Sweet Child o’ Mine and Paradise City.
While Ivanka’s childhood crush was not previously public, Rose has made clear that he is no fan of MAGA, Trump, or even Ivanka’s active involvement in the first Trump administration.
Ivanka snapped at a reporter in 2018 after she was asked about her dad’s sexual accusers, answering, “I think it’s a pretty inappropriate question to ask a daughter if she believes the accusers of her father when he’s affirmatively stated there’s no truth to it.” Rose had an immediate response to the TV interview.
“What’s inappropriate is Ivanka Trump being part of the White House Administration,” he tweeted.
Rose, 63, has reserved much harsher words for Trump, who has repeatedly used Guns N’ Roses songs at campaign rallies against the band’s wishes. He tweeted a thread to address the issue in 2018.
“Just so ya know,” he began, “GNR like a lot of artists opposed to the unauthorized use of their music at political events has formally requested [our] music not [be] used at Trump rallies or Trump associated events.”
He continued, “Unfortunately, the Trump campaign is using loopholes in the various venues’ blanket performance licenses, which were not intended for such craven political purposes, without the songwriters’ consent. Can u say “s--tbags?!
“Personally, I kinda liked the irony of Trump supporters listening to a bunch of anti-Trump music at his rallies, but I don’t imagine a lot of ‘em really get that or care.”
Rose’s public criticism of Trump continued into 2020, with him calling the president a “repulsive excuse for a person with a sick agenda.”
Guns N’ Roses also made clear the band itself was no fan of MAGA. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it sold a shirt that read “LIVE N’ LET DIE WITH COVID 45.” The shirt’s release came shortly after Trump famously refused to wear a mask during a visit to a Honeywell factory where the protective covering was required for everyone.
Eric, 41, suggested in Under Siege that Rose and his dad’s relationship was not always so sour.
The president’s third child claimed that he once rode on a helicopter from New York to Atlantic City with his dad and Rose on board, apparently on a business trip. Eric claimed that other passengers who rode with his dad on that same route included Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson, Don King, Tony Bennett, and Barbara Walters.
