Funeral held for Ivana Trump; ex-president pays tribute

By DEEPTI HAJELA

NEW YORK (AP) — Ivana Trump, the 1980s style icon and businesswoman who helped Donald Trump build the empire that put him on a road toward the White House, lived a “beautiful life,” the former president recalled as loved ones paid final respects to her Wednesday.

The ex-president joined all his children, an array of other relatives and friends at a Manhattan church for Ivana Trump’s funeral Mass.

“A very sad day, but at the same time a celebration of a wonderful and beautiful life,” he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, before he, former first lady Melania Trump and their son, Barron headed to St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church.

Ivana and Donald Trump’s three children — Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric — stood with their father and their families as the gold-toned casket was carried from St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan. Eric Trump briefly put an arm around his sister’s shoulders as she held the hand of one of her small children, who clutched a red flower.

Tiffany Trump, the daughter of the former president and his second wife, Marla Maples, also attended the service, as did family friends including Jeanine Pirro, co-host of Fox News’ “The Five,” and Charles Kushner, a real estate developer and the father of Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner. Fashion designer Dennis Basso, a longtime friend of Ivana Trump’s, was also among the mourners.