Creepy things Trump has said about his daughter
Executive summary
A string of public remarks and behind-the-scenes anecdotes over nearly three decades has led many journalists and critics to label some of Donald Trump’s comments about his daughter Ivanka as “creepy” or sexualized; those examples range from on-air interviews where he discussed her body to allegations by former aides that he made explicitly sexual remarks in the White House [1] [2] [3]. Reporting shows a pattern—documented interview transcripts and contemporaneous recollections—as well as disputes over provenance and interpretation, so the record mixes direct quotes, media reporting and secondhand claims that some sources say lack incontrovertible proof [1] [4].
1. The most-cited on-air lines: ‘best body’, ‘voluptuous’ and ‘perhaps I’d be dating her’
Multiple outlets have recorded or summarized Trump’s public interviews in which he commented on Ivanka’s appearance: on Howard Stern and other shows he said Ivanka had “the best body,” called her “voluptuous,” and famously said on The View that “if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her” — lines that have been replayed by CNN, IMDb coverage of Stern interviews and Newsweek’s compilation of past remarks [1] [5] [2].
2. Earlier anecdotes and pageant-era remarks: ‘hot’ and kissing on set
Longer-standing anecdotes go back to the 1990s: the New York Times–sourced recollection published by The Independent recounts a Miss Teen USA moment when Trump asked a winner if his daughter was “hot” and, according to witnesses, said he kissed Ivanka “with every chance [he] gets,” an exchange that editors later removed from the broadcast’s final cut, according to reporting cited by The Independent [6].
3. Allegations from former aides: explicit sexualization inside the White House
A former administration official, Miles Taylor, in his book compiled accounts from aides who alleged Trump made lewd remarks about Ivanka’s breasts and backside and even speculated “what it might be like to have sex with her,” a set of claims reported by Newsweek and The Seattle Times that also say John Kelly once rebuked the president for speaking that way about his daughter [2] [3].
4. Pattern reporting vs. disputes over sourcing and proof
While outlets including CNN, Newsweek and The Guardian characterize the remarks as part of a decades-long pattern of sexualized commentary, some critics and analysts note limits in the record: The Guardian emphasized there is “no incontrovertible proof” for some of the book’s floor‑of‑the‑White‑House quotations and reported that John Kelly had not publicly corroborated Taylor’s recounting at the time [1] [4]. Reporting thus combines on-the-record audio and published interviews with behind‑the‑scenes recollections that, for some episodes, rely on aides’ memories rather than contemporaneous recordings [1] [4] [2].
5. Responses, denials and family framing
Ivanka Trump has publicly pushed back against some allegations about her father’s conduct, telling CBS in 2016 that he was “not a groper” and that he has “total respect for women,” a response cited amid reporting that otherwise catalogs his crude talk [2]. At the same time, commentators and critics framed these comments as symptomatic of a broader pattern of misogynistic rhetoric from Trump documented by outlets like CNN and summarized in news packages that juxtapose the on‑air quotes with the off‑camera anecdotes [1] [6].
6. Why these remarks drew sustained attention
The coverage—ranging from contemporaneous interview transcripts to later memoir‑style books from former staffers—has mattered because it mixes public statements that are verifiable on tape with private allegations that, if true, show a workplace culture where aides felt compelled to rebuke a sitting president; reporting has therefore kept the controversy alive while also inviting scrutiny about which specific claims are directly sourced and which remain contested [1] [2] [4].