Melania Trump had power struggle with Ivanka, new book reveals

US President Donald Trump stands with his wife first lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner. Photo / Getty Images

A new book has revealed a power struggle in the early days of Donald Trump's presidency between his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, and eldest daughter Ivanka.

In The 'Art Of Her Deal: The Untold Story Of Melania Trump', 'Washington Post' reporter Mary Jordan claims that in weeks after Trump took office in 2017, tensions were high between the First Lady and her stepdaughter, with Melania resisting a bid by Ivanka to rename her White House office the "First Family Office" before she moved to Washington.

"With Melania away, Ivanka used the private theatre, with its plush red seats, and enjoyed other White House perks," Jordan wrote, in an extract of the book published in the 'Washington Post'.

During Melania's time in New York, money set aside for her moving expenses were allegedly used by Ivanka, who she had been overhead referring to as "The Princess", in the West Wing.

"Some said she treated the private residence as it were her own home. Melania did not like it. When she and Barron finally moved in, she put an end to the 'revolving door' by enforcing firm boundaries."

White House spokesman Judd Deere denied all claims made about Melania and Ivanka's relationship and rumours of tension.

"This is totally false," he told 'Business Insider'. "The media is once again running untrue information from anonymous sources and not once did anyone fact check this with the White House or Ivanka Trump."

The rift between the two Trump women wasn't the only revelation Jordan has made in the book.

It reportedly took the President two hours to face his wife after the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape was released in 2016.

US President Donald Trump stands with his wife first lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner. Photo / Getty Images

The First Lady was "the elephant not in the room" then-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was quoted as saying when the video, in which Mr Trump uttered the infamous, "Grab 'em by the p*ssy" line, was first played for Mr Trump, Mr Christie and a number of other advisers.

Melania was already married to Mr Trump when the tape was recorded in 2005.

One person in the room told Jordan that the President "turned red; red was coming up his neck to his ears" after the tape was played.

"I think he understood early on that it was going to create ramifications for him at home, too," they said.

Another source said: "That night he seemed frightened to go face his wife."

"Everybody was saying, 'You should go upstairs and see Melania. Why don't you go upstairs now and see Melania?' And he was not rushing to go up there," Mr Christie told Jordan.

"I said to him, 'It ain't going to get any easier. The longer you wait, it's not going to get any easier.'"

Ten days after the leak, the soon-to-be First Lady defended her husband's comments in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper.

The comments were just "boy talk" that he had been egged on to join, she told Cooper, adding that she had accepted Mr Trump's apology.

"I believe my husband. I believe my husband," she said.

"This was all organised from the opposition. And with the details ... did they ever check the background of these women? They don't have any facts."