The new Melania Trump documentary has allegedly removed any mention of Ivanka Trump, reigniting rumors that the first lady and Donald Trump’s eldest daughter do not get along. Ivanka’s apparent absence from the movie, which covers the 20 days she experienced before her husband was inaugurated as the president for a second term, is noticeable given that the film has a lengthy runtime of 1 hour and 44 minutes. The documentary simply titled “Melania” is set to release in US theaters nationwide on January 30, 2026, though it will premiere at the controversially renamed Trump-Kennedy Center the day before on January 29.
There’s ‘zero love lost’ between Melania and Ivanka Trump
The upcoming Melania documentary allegedly fails to include Ivanka Trump, according to various sources who have already seen the entire film, per Rob Shuter’s Nice But Naughty Substack.
One insider bluntly says that the removal of her stepdaughter, who was the former advisor to President Trump, is deliberate. “There’s zero love lost,” the source said. “Ivanka’s absence is intentional. This is Melania’s world, and she wanted it that way.”
Given that the first lady was in control of the film’s production, one insider concurs that Ivanka’s absence isn’t an accident. As a producer on the documentary, Melania Trump was involved “in every aspect” of the production, including the creative process and the post-production marketing, according to Fox News Digital. In other words, no shot in the movie went forward without her approval.
“Melania and Ivanka do not get along — not at all,” the source said. “There’s real tension, and Melania made it clear she didn’t want Ivanka anywhere near this film.”
Rumors of the tension between Melania and Ivanka reignited when the first lady removed Ivanka from the president’s state visit to the United Kingdom in September last year. For clarity, Melania decided to nix the invitations of Ivanka, Donald Trump Jr., and Eric, so that the visit didn’t “look like a family takeover.” However, she did include the president’s other daughter, Tiffany Trump, and her husband, Michael Boulos, on the trip instead. At the time, one source said Melania has “always had a softer spot for Tiffany” while another said it wasn’t a secret that the first lady didn’t include Melania since they “do not like each other.”
Another notable absence in the new documentary is Melania’s son, Barron Trump, who has reportedly been trying to lose his European accent while he studies at New York University. However, in this instance, she is allegedly being protective of his privacy, something that she has done several times in the past. One insider notes, “He shows up for just a few fleeting moments [in the movie]. Melania is fiercely protective of him — she won’t let him speak freely or be put in any even slightly awkward situation.”
“Every single scene with Barron had to be approved by her,” another source corroborated. “He exists in public on her terms.”
Melania has allegedly threatened to revoke Mar-a-Lago memberships to those who take pictures of Barron without their consent and was apparently “furious” when a TikTok pastor shared a private conversation he had with her son concerning his faith.
An early viewer of the documentary summarized it this way: “It’s her story, her rules. Barron is protected, Ivanka is gone, and the spotlight never leaves Melania.”
Meanwhile, Ivanka Trump is apparently trying to transition from being a political figure into a influencer who shares her lavish lifestyle with her husband, Jared Kushner. Several public relations experts have noticed that she has switched her social media focus away from “polished political positioning” and “curated family moments” to lifestyle-focused content and posts that include packages from brands and product spotlights.
