Friends and family of Ivana Trump, the ex-wife of former President Donald Trump and mother of three of his children, are mourning the sudden death of the Manhattan socialite and businesswoman.
Roger Stone, a friend of Ivana Trump’s going back 50 years, remembered Ivana as “a gracious lady, a great mother and an incredible hostess.”
“I was sad to hear of her passing,” the former Trump political advisor added.
Designer Dennis Basso told The Post Trump “was a fabulous woman and a great friend of mine for 40 years. To hear this is absolutely devastating.”
Basso said the two “clicked as best friends” at a fashion show in 1983 where they soon “became like family.”
“We attended galas together, we traveled together with the kids; we spent Christmases together in Aspen. We had an unbelievable closeness.”
The designer described Trump as “a smart, determined businesswoman,” who “loved her children, and her grandchildren.”
Ivana Trump’s former publicist, Todd Shapiro, told The Post she will miss his monthly lunches with her and her dog, Tiger, and listening to her “priceless” stories about the ex-President.
She was a force to be reckoned with in the Trump empire, he said.
“She was the anchor of the Trump organization and made the Plaza Hotel into one of the most celebrated places in the world,” Shapiro said. “She ran Atlantic City’s Trump hotels like a five-star general. You couldn’t walk down the street without dozens of people stopping her. At one time she was more famous than Brad Pitt and Angelina combined.
“Even after marriage and a world war divorce, Donald was her best friend,” he said, adding that the exes talked “often.”
Broadway producer Judith Ann Abrams, Trump’s neighbor at her E 64th St. apartment, said she knew Ivana Trump since her divorce to Donald.
“What can I say about her? I think her life would have been easier if she changed her name,” Abrams told The Post.
“It’s the end of an era on this block. She was always very nice to us, very friendly… I’ll miss her.”
Ivana Trump, whom Abrams had last seen about five weeks ago, was “always” in the neighborhood with her dog Tiger.
She never appeared to look sick, she said, and remained composed throughout the incessant media attention she received as a result of her ex-husband’s presidency.
“She never complained. She was impeccable,” Abrams said. “Her hair was never out of place, she looked beautiful. If I was going through that I’d be in a permanent sweatsuit.”
“He would turn this into a whole publicity — and you wonder why she had a heart attack,” she added.
Former Veteran Fair columnist George Wayne said he was “very close” with Ivana Trump, whom he called his “Godmama Ivana.”
He recalled “great memories,” with her, although at heart he said she was “really quite the recluse.” He specifically remembered being with her the night the US Gulf War invasion kicked off in the early 1990s at the Plaza Hotel, where she reigned “queen” of the establishment.
“I’ll always remember the most exquisite chef dinner in the kitchen and watching CNN as bombs dropped over Kuwait. We sipped Veuve Cliquot, her favorite champagne on that occasion and so many others.
“I was at her last wedding and spent a memorable Christmas weekend in Palm Beach with my Godmama Ivana. May she rest in peace,” Wayne said. “I’m rather numb at the moment. The years of Trump presidency, she was really quite [a] recluse and closed off her circle.”
Author Dick Morris, a veteran political consultant whose father, Eugene Morris, was Donald Trump’s real estate lawyer, remembered having dinner with Donald and Ivana at their Central Park West apartment in 1977 when Ivana was in a cast after breaking her leg.
“I remember Donald maneuvering her so she could get a view of the park and skyline,” he said. “Donald had shown warmth and compassion in helping her.”
“He didn’t take her for granted,” he added.
Morris said Ivana Trump reminded him of Jackie Kennedy, with her “quiet dignity about her.”
Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, tweeted on Thursday that she was “very saddened to learn of the passing of Ivana Trump. Please keep her children and the entire Trump family in your prayers.”
Former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany also sent her regards to the president’s family.
“My family and I send all of our love and prayers to President Trump @IvankaTrump @DonaldJTrumpJr @EricTrump and the entire Trump family for the loss of Ivana Trump. Thinking of you all during this very difficult time,” she wrote.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper offered his “deepest condolences” to the Trump family “and all those in the Trump family for the loss of their mother Ivana Trump today at the age of 73. May her memory be a blessing.”
Ivana Trump, the Czech American mother to Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump, was found dead at her Upper East Side apartment on Thursday afternoon, although her official cause of death remains unclear.
She was married to the former president from 1977 to 1992.
“Our mother was an incredible woman — a force in business, world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend,” Ivana and Donald Trump’s third child Eric Trump said in a statement.
“It’s a very sad day, guys. It’s a very sad day,” Ivana and Donald Trump’s third child Eric Trump said Thursday afternoon as he left his mother’s home with his wife, Lara Trump.
Ivana & Donald Trump
In Happier Times for Ivana
IVANA TRUMP
WIth ERIC & IVANKA
NEW YORK
1995
IVANA & HER CHILDREN
IVANKA, ERIC
And DONALD TRUMP Jr.
CONDOLENCES to IVANKA TRUMP
ERIC TRUMP & DONALD TRUMP Jr.
And The Entire TRUMP FAMILY
"REST in PEACE IVANA"
