The sad news broke this week that President Donald Trump’s younger brother, Robert, died after an illness that led to his recent hospitalization.
In response to the loss, Trump opened up about the experience on Monday during an interview on the Fox News Channel.
“He was a tremendous guy”
Calling Robert Trump a “tremendous guy,” the president reflected on the impact his brother had throughout his life.
The elder Trump visited the younger on Friday at a hospital in New York. The following day, the 71-year-old Robert Trump died.
Revealing his vulnerable side, the president acknowledged that he has gone through a few “very hard” days this week.
“It was not a great weekend,” he said.”It’s very hard. You knew it was going to happen, but still, when it happens, it’s a very tough thing. He was a great guy. He was a tremendous guy.”
Calling his brother his “best friend,” Trump said that it was “not easy” to accept the loss. He went on to describe his brother as a competitive force in his life, but one who was never “jealous” and always supportive.
“Helped me very much with whatever I did”
“He was a very smart guy,” the president said, adding that his brother was “right there” behind him during many of his major business successes.
“And no matter what I did, whether it was real estate deals or anything else, he was right there and, in many cases, helped me very much with whatever I did,” Trump said.
The president lost his other brother, Fred Trump Jr., nearly 40 years ago, and has previously addressed how the alcoholism-related death impacted his life.
Well-wishers of all political stripes have reached out to express their condolences, including presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who has notably experienced the loss of several close family members throughout his life. A funeral will be held on Friday, the president announced, indicating its location could be the White House.
While the nation remains bitterly divided over weighty issues ahead of November’s election, personal narratives like this one still have the capacity to unite Americans in sympathy.
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