Donald Trump reflects on death of his ex-wife Ivana: ‘She never gave up’
Donald Trump to attend Ivana’s funeral in Manhattan
New Yorkers know about falling off the edge — or at least living on it.
I’m having a pedicure, manicured fingernails still wet, cranky dog barking — on his way to the vet because his paw hurts — and the phone rings.
POTUS. No. 45. Donald Trump.
Not a business phone call. Simple. Quick. No political chat.
Two human beings who’ve long shared life, death, success, tragedies and been there for one another a lifetime.
DJT: “I’m here. I’m in New York. I’m feeling OK. I had some rest. A little sleep. But I’m sad.”
The voice, low.
“I’m just thinking how well you knew Ivana. You knew her very well. You knew her from the first. From the very beginning. From when I first met her. She was beautiful. She was special. I know you and she liked each other from the earliest day.”
Short pause. Then, quietly: “She was outstanding. Beautiful inside and out. We began all of it, our lives together, with such a great relationship.”
What does he remember as one of her greatest attributes?
“That she was different. That she never gave up. Beautiful, yes, but she was also a hard worker. No matter how rough things were or how badly they looked she never fell down. She went from communism to our lives together. She took nothing for granted.”
A second’s pause and then, since we had just lost someone who was so meaningful to us, I asked if he thought we were about to also lose our country.
Donald: “It’s horrible. We’ve never been at such a low point. That trip to Saudi Arabia? We have more oil than they have. This man in Washington is setting us all back. Setting everybody back.””
A second’s pause, then: “Look, let’s us just manage to get through this awful painful experience. And after this . . . just remember . . . just remember what I’m telling you . . . 78 is not old.”
Support the Army now
I’m thinking New York today.
Curtis Sliwa: “Merchant seaman 54 years, my father was often laid off because of a strike. The Salvation Army gave seamen $2 each day so they wouldn’t be grabbed by cops, charged with loitering and sent away for six months. Never tried to convert the seamen.
“Our food and clothes came from the Salvation Army. And we learned to bowl at their center near our Polish language Catholic school. They never tried to convert us.
“In Gary, Ind., and Manchester, NH, the Salvation Army donated space for me to train Guardian Angels recruits — when nobody else would.
“So reach into your pocket. Put your spare change into their red kettle.”
This Forest Hills guy owned a Honda. He bought it second hand. The pandemic changed his world. So he decided to unload this old car. So he sold it. The new buyer paid the exact amount this dude had paid to buy the used thing six years earlier.
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.
