According to the latest drop in a never-ending series of White House tell-alls, this one called Kushner, Inc.: Greed. Ambition. Corruption., First Daughter Ivanka Trump is generally used to getting her way in behind-the-scenes petty power struggles inside the Trump administration—except when First Lady Melania Trump blocks her.
Vicky Ward, the book’s author, was a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Monday night and served up a sample of the kind of Trump-Kushner palace intrigue that is sure to make President Trump tweet weird shit at 3 a.m.
Ward hinted that it may be the underhanded activities of Ivanka Trump and Kushner, not the Mueller investigation, that ultimately brings down President Trump, a man who reportedly bends over backwards to appease his daughter and son-in-law (except in any minimally humane policy matter that the couple say they care about, whoops). Except when Melania steps in!
COLBERT: Who is there to say “no” to these people?
WARD: So here’s an interesting suggestion: Melania Trump... is the only person in my book who has ever successfully stood up to Ivanka Trump and won. I have a scene [during the transition in which] Ivanka Trump has told the world that she’s not going to be joining the White House. Absolute rubbish. Behind the scenes [she was] making all the plans. [She actually had] a “Trump family office” drawn up for the East Wing, which is normally the territory of the First Lady. When Melania Trump heard about this, she put a very quick end to Ivanka’s plans.
COLBERT: So, all our hope rests on Melania Trump.
No word yet on whether Ivanka has pulled a “you’re not my real mom” on Melania yet.