As our great-grandparents had the Roosevelts, our grandparents had the Kennedys, and our parents had the Bushes, we have the Trumps. In many ways, it is perfectly obvious why we’re fascinated by dynasties. When multiple members of a family are in the public eye, we have the pleasure of picking and choosing our favorites: the black sheep, the late starter, the quiet one.
A vivid reminder of just what a fascinating organism a family dynasty can be came with the death last week at age 71 of Robert Trump, the youngest sibling of President Trump. Robert was the fifth of five children of Fred and Mary Trump, three of whom — retired and highly respected federal judge Maryanne, retired banking executive Elizabeth, and Donald — survive him. Their eldest son, Fred Jr., died in 1981.
Although Donald has always soaked up more attention than all of his relatives combined, Robert stood out in a number of ways. By all accounts, he was the gentleman of a brood perhaps coarsened by the rough-and-ready real estate business launched by their father (and significantly expanded and glammed-up by brother Donald). In Robert, though, there was no whiff of the sort of paternal disappointment that apparently led to much unhappiness in the short life of Fred Jr., nor was there the weakness for glitz and publicity that still trips up Donald.
“Robert, who is two years younger than I am, is soft-spoken and easygoing, but he’s very talented and effective,” wrote Donald, in a candid display of fraternal affection, in The Art of the Deal. “I think it must be hard to have me for a brother, but he’s never said anything about it and we’re very close. He is definitely the only guy in my life whom I ever call ‘honey.’”
Born in Queens in 1948, Robert nursed the same twin passions as his elder brother: sports and business. Donald was devoted to baseball but majored in economics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. While attending Boston University, Robert was captain of the men’s soccer team and earned his degree in economics too. And after graduating, Robert in time found himself in the employ of his brother’s real estate business, the Trump Organization.
But the differences were always apparent. Writing about Robert’s tenure presiding over Donald’s ill-advised Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, Trump biographer Wayne Barrett wrote: “In the midst of the Taj crisis, he so assailed Robert at a session with other Taj executives that Robert packed up and walked out that day, flying to New York without notice.”
Happily, Robert had other things in his life, including a long marriage to the patrician socialite Blaine Trump, whose son he adopted and who was the original television pioneer in the extended Trump family: Before The Apprentice, Blaine was a regular on the QVC home shopping channel. Amid social engagements, though, theirs was a relatively simple life for high-society types. “You never hear from us,” Blaine told the New York Times in 1987. “Robert and I both love to go to the movies. Robert rates theaters on the quality of the popcorn.” When Robert’s marriage to Blaine faltered — he had taken up with his secretary, whom he married just this past March — he briefly became ensnared in Donald-style tabloid headlines, but by the time of his brother’s new perch in the White House in 2016, he seemed at peace with his position in the family tree. “If he were to need me in any way, I’d be there,” Robert told the New York Post during his brother’s first run. “Anything I could do to help.”
It is common for even supporters of the president’s agenda to question aspects of his character, but if he had the affection of a man as decent as Robert, that surely must count for something.
Peter Tonguette writes for many publications, including the Wall Street Journal, National Review, and Humanities.
