Lonely Trump, 79, Endures Awkward Christmas Eve Dinner
Donald Trump She may be president, but even she has to endure holiday dinners with her in-laws.
Trump, 79, spent Christmas Eve at his Mar-a-Lago mansion with family members, including First Lady Melania Trump, 55, and her father, Viktor Knavs, who is just two years older than the president.
The trio were seated together for a sumptuous Christmas Eve dinner at the Palm Beach resort on Wednesday night. Forbes In video footage of the event circulating online, Knavs, 81, appears animated as he chats with his daughter, who leans in close to hear him.
Trump, Melania and her father, Viktor Knavs, attended a Christmas dinner at the Mar-a-Lago resort on Wednesday. / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images
Trump, meanwhile, stares straight ahead, as if frozen in speech. He scanned the room sullenly before realizing the camera was on him, prompting him to swing a hard, performative fist.
Critics of the president quickly seized on the moment online, pointing to what they described as Melania’s lack of interest. “Can he sit further away?” an X user witty. “Trump is filled with anger and shame that Melania only wants to talk to her father,” another wrote. to mail Viewed 1.6 million times.
Knavs and his late wife, Amalija, worked in fashion and sales in Slovenia before moving to the United States after their daughter married the real estate agent. They became US citizens in 2018, despite their son-in-law’s strict stance on immigration.
A fixture in the president’s family life, Knavs has appeared at events ranging from Trump’s inauguration to the Thanksgiving dinner table. When Barron TrumpKnavs, the President’s youngest son and the only child he shares with the First Lady, graduated from the prestigious Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida, in May 2024. Knavs was the only family member in attendance other than Barron’s parents. Palm Beach Post reported.
It is known that Melania Trump and Barron Trump have close relations with the Slovenian businessman. According to reports, Melania Trump was largely absent from the now-president’s third and final campaign as she cared for her mother, Amalija Knavs, who died on January 9, 2024, and was buried in Palm Beach.
Barron Trump attended the inauguration ceremony of his grandfather, Viktor Knavs. / ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images
According to reports, Barron Trump remained close to his grandfather throughout the funeral.
In 2016, Melania Trump’s childhood friends said: New York Times He said they remembered Knavs, then a member of the elite Communist Party in Yugoslavia, as a “larger-than-life personality” much like Trump.
At the time, Trump’s campaign denied that Melania Trump’s father was an “active member” of the party.
“But he was pretty successful there,” Trump said in a 2016 interview. “It’s a different kind of success than what you get here. But it was successful.”
Trump may look tired at dinner after a busy afternoon fielding calls from children across the United States as part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Santa tracker.
Trump and First Lady Melania continued the presidential tradition at their sprawling estate in Palm Beach. / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images
In true Trump fashion, decades of presidential tradition has undergone a political transformation.
“Pennsylvania is great. We actually won Pennsylvania three times, but we won Pennsylvania. We won by a wide margin. That’s why I love Pennsylvania,” Trump told a 5-year-old boy from the Keystone State who was not yet alive during his first two presidential campaigns.
President later closed On Christmas Eve, he posted a scathing post on Truth Social denouncing what he called “Radical Left Scum.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
