Paula Lugones
08/14/2020 - 18:37
- Clarín.com
- World
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, went to New York on Friday to visit his younger brother, Robert, who was hospitalized in serious condition.
The 72-year-old Robert has apparently been hospitalized for a week at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. Off the schedule, the White House had announced in the morning that it would visit him, but no one wanted to comment to reporters on the details of the disease.
Low-key, Robert had been in the news last month because he sought to restrict the publication of a book written by his niece Mary Trump, the daughter of his late older brother, that revealed intimacies of the family.
One of the stories that the presidential niece related is that Donald rarely visited his older brother, Fred Jr., when he was ill. Even the night he died, none of the relatives were with Fred, Mary Trump said, adding that Donald had gone to the movies.
Perhaps that is why the president has modified his schedule to visit Robert, who is very ill.
"I hope he's okay," Trump said before boarding the presidential helicopter on the White House lawn. "He's going through a tough time," he added.
“I have a wonderful brother. We have a great relationship for a long time, from day one, many years ago. And now he is in the hospital ”, added the president.
President Donald Trump's guard escorts him upon his arrival at Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan on Friday. Photo: AP
Robert had already been admitted a few months ago to Mount Sinai Hospital and had been in serious condition, but it did not emerge what was affecting him.
Fred Trump, the president's father, had five children with his wife Mary Anne: Mary Anne, Fred Jr. Elizabeth Donald, and Robert.
Mary Anne, eldest daughter and attorney, was chosen by Ronald Reagan as a district judge for New Jersey in 1983 and 1999 and was nominated by Bill Clinton as an appeals judge. She is now 81 years old and has been retired since 2017.
Fred Jr., the older male, had been appointed by his father to lead the family real estate business, but he could not resist the pressure and decided to pursue his passion, which was airplanes. He could never give up the addiction of alcohol and died at the age of 43 admitted to the hospital.
The current head of the White House always said that his brother's decline made him decide not to drink alcohol, do drugs or smoke cigarettes.
Elizabeth is the third, four years older than Donald, and the one who kept the lowest profile. Banker, she's married to a movie producer.
Robert was born two years after Donald and is the youngest of the five siblings. Like his brother, he spent much of his career in the family business and became a top executive. Unlike Donald, he always kept a low profile in New York business and society.
Washington, correspondent
CB