Trump's Unexpected Reaction To Ex-Aide In Court Raises Questions About Ivanka & Tiffany

Former president Donald Trump certainly has a tendency to make his feelings about things known. So, when he smiled at his former personal assistant, Madeleine Westerhout, in court on Thursday, May 9, it raised a few eyebrows. In 2019, Donald fired Westerhout after she made some inappropriate comments to the media about his relationship with his daughters, Ivanka and Tiffany Trump. As a result, Donald's cheery demeanor toward Westerhout is sparking some questions, and it's causing concern about his relationship with his daughters.

After becoming Donald's assistant in 2017, Westerhout was promoted to the role of director of Oval Office operations in February 2019 before losing that job after just six months. Five years later, she has taken the stand to testify in her former boss' criminal fraud trial. Donald and Westerhout certainly didn't seem to end their working relationship on good terms. Yet, he repeatedly smiled at his former assistant during her time in the courtroom. Donald hasn't been particularly smiley throughout his trial. In fact, he even reportedly nodded off a few times in the courtroom. Consequently, it's easy to wonder if Donald's apparent joy to see Westerhout again means that they no longer have bad blood. Beyond that, though, we're questioning what this means about his relationship with his kids.

In 2019, Madeleine Westerhout had a conversation with reporters that was said to be off-the-record. She gave them the lowdown about Donald Trump's relationship with Ivanka and Tiffany Trump, saying that he was closer with her than he was with his daughters and claiming that Donald didn't pose for photos with Tiffany because of her weight. When the not-so-off-the-record claims came out, she lost her job. Even so, Donald took to X, formerly known as Twitter soon after and said, "She called me yesterday to apologize, had a bad night. I fully understood and forgave her! I love Tiffany, doing great!" He also called Westerhout "a very good person."

Despite firing her for her mistake, it seems that Donald was able to forgive Westerhout. This may not be the same for Tiffany, though. In 2020, Westerhout said that she also reached out to Tiffany to apologize, and she never responded to the message. It's safe to assume that Donald's daughters may not be as forgiving of Westerhout as he was. Nevertheless, Trump seemed to be happy to see his ex-employee enter the courtroom on Thursday. And the feeling appears to be mutual. According to CNN, she opened up about her book, "Off the Record: My Dream Job at the White House, How I Lost It, and What I Learned," on the stand, and got emotional, saying, "I don't think he's treated fairly and I wanted to tell that story."