Donald Trump’s brother Robert, 72, has died in hospital just one day after the president visited him in hospital in New York.
The president said in a statement on Saturday night: ‘It is with heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight.
‘He was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. Robert, I love you. Rest in peace.’
Robert Trump, pictured with older brother Donald in 1999, was admitted to New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan in serious condition. The White House announced his death on Saturday
President Trump was seen arriving at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center after flying into the city late Friday afternoon
Robert’s death came one day after the president visited him in New York City while he was hospitalized in a serious condition.
Trump was seen wearing a protective face mask as he arrived at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center in Lennox Hill late Friday afternoon.
Robert had been admitted to the hospital and was described as ‘very ill’, however details of his illness are still unknown.
During a White House press briefing earlier, the president said his brother was ‘having a hard time’ but did not elaborate on why he had been hospitalized.
Trump had been scheduled to travel to his country club in nearby Bedminster, New Jersey for the weekend, but made a stop in Manhattan first to check in on his sibling.
The president was seen leaving the heliport after flying in from New Jersey.
Hospital security guards were seen blocking off access to a street outside the medical center ahead of the president’s visit earlier this afternoon.
Robert has openly voiced his support for his brother over years. He is pictured hugging Donald after his presidential acceptance speech on Election Day 2016
Robert, the youngest of the five Trump siblings, was previously hospitalized for ten days at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York in June.
He was admitted to the neurosciences intensive care unit where he was treated for a ‘serious condition’, the Daily Beast reported.
Around the same time, Robert had filed a lawsuit against his niece Mary Trump, seeking to block her from publishing a tell-all book on the president.
Mary is the daughter of the brothers’ eldest sibling, Fred Trump Jr, who struggled with alcoholism and died in 1981 at the age of 43.
Robert filed for an injunction claiming the explosive book, ‘Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man’, violated the terms of a confidentiality agreement she signed nearly two decades ago.
In a statement to The New York Times in June, he accused his niece of attempting to ‘sensationalize and mischaracterize’ their family relationship for her own financial gain.
Robert is pictured right with sister Maryanne and brother Donald in 1990
‘I and the rest of my entire family are so proud of my wonderful brother, the president, and feel that Mary’s actions are truly a disgrace,’ Robert said.
The explosive memoir was eventually released last month after a judge agreed to lift a temporary restraining order preventing Mary from publicizing or distributing her work.
The judge said the confidentiality clauses in the 2001 agreement, ‘viewed in the context of the current Trump family circumstances in 2020, would offend public policy as a prior restraint on protected speech’.
The younger Trump had openly voiced his support for his brother over the years.
In an interview with Page Six ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Robert said he supported his brother’s campaign ‘1,000 per cent’.’
Robert is the youngest of the five Trump siblings born to Fred and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump. Pictured left to right: Donald, Fred Jr, Robert, Maryanne, and Elizabeth
He was later seen celebrating Donald’s victory at the New York Hilton where the then president-elect delivered his acceptance speech.
Robert also spoke out in support of his brother during a brief, but rare interview at LAX airport last December, when Trump had been at the center of an impeachment trial.
When asked how his older sibling was doing, he told the cameraman: ‘I think he’s doing fantastic’, before getting into the his car.
Robert had also held a senior position in the family business, but unlike his brother, he has generally maintained a low public profile.
He previously served as an executive for Trump Organization where he managed the real estate portfolio outside of Manhattan. In 2016 Robert told Page Six that he was ‘gainfully retired’.
Robert was married to socialite Blaine Trump (pictured) for 25 years until their 2007 divorce. Until his death, he lived in Long Island with wife Ann Marie Pallan
Robert married his former secretary Ann Marie Pallan (center) in March. The two were rumored to be having an affair while he was married to first wife Blaine
He was married to socialite Blaine Trump for 25 years until their 2007 divorce, and until his death served on the board of directors of ZeniMax Media.
The couple’s split was widely reported in the tabloids following reports that Robert had been living with his mistress – and now wife – for two years.
Prior to his death, he was based in Long Island where he lived with wife Ann Marie Pallan, his former secretary, who he reportedly married in March.
Despite their split, Robert wassaid to have remained on good terms with his ex-wife, who reportedly attended Trump’s inauguration in 2017.
Robert also has two older sisters, Elizabeth Trump Grau, who is a retired executive from Chase Manhattan Bank, and Maryanne Trump Barry, a retired federal judge.
Just like his older brother, Robert formerly served as an executive for the Trump Organization, but managed to keep a relatively low-profile. He is pictured above with ex-wife Blaine (in green), Donald, parents Mary and Fred, and sister Maryanne
Left to right: Blaine Trump, Robert Trump, Donald Trump and Ivana Trump are seen at the Pierre Hotel New York in 1987