Photos Of The Obamas & The Trumps Show Completely Different Lives As First Families
It's no surprise that President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama have very different relationships to their kids. While Trump's oldest kids — Ivanka, Eric, Donald Jr. — were taking over the family business, Obama's kids, Malia and Sasha, were growing up as young teens in the White House. (Tiffany Trump, meanwhile, is in law school, while young Barron is living in the White House.) Going from the undeniably loving Obama family, to a family of business moguls running the country, these side-by-side photos of Trump and Obama as dads show just how much the first family dynamics have changed.
Trump's relationship to his older kids has been business-oriented, with the intention that they will take over his billion-dollar real-estate company. During Trump's Apprentice days, the kids, who were in their 20s at the time, were the true apprentices being prepped and molded into business moguls. Today, Trump's two sons are in charge of many business ventures. Eric is in charge of the company’s 17 golf courses and is president of the Trump Winery, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Donald Trump Jr. is in charge of most New York real-estate renovation and construction projects.
To compare, Obama's relationship to his kids seems a lot more... familial.
It's all very cordial, but if you didn't know they were related, one might think it was just another photo from a business meeting. Arguably, Trump's kids are significantly older than Obama's, which might explain the more formal interactions.
In this photo, Eric Trump and his wife, Lara are posing with the President of the United States, who also happens to be his father.
The Obamas' interactions are way more touchy and outwardly affectionate.
There's rarely a photograph where the family is not embracing each other somehow.
When Ivana Trump, 68, released her memoir Raising Trump, it lifted the veil on never-before heard details about raising her three kids, Ivanka, Donald Trump Jr., and Eric with her then-husband. During a November 2017 interview with The Ray D'Arcy Show, Ivana explained how Trump was far from a conventional father, who was often busy making phone calls in his Trump Tower office. She talked about how the children would travel down from their sixth-floor penthouse to the 28th floor, where Trump worked, to say goodbye before they left for school.
"And he was always on the telephone," Ivana told the host. "He was a good, loving dad, but he could not do... the kids' talk. He did not know how to do that until the kids were in university and he could talk business with them."
This photo of Trump with his kids is sweet, but Obama with his daughters is another level of adorable.
What some find cute, others may call a bit creepy.
There's only one word to describe this: precious.
Tiffany Trump, who is the only daughter of Marla Maples and Donald Trump, seems to share a sweet moment with her father in birthday throwback post on her Instagram.
And Obama's dad throwback pics are equally adorable.
Trump's youngest son, Barron, 11, was dragged into the spotlight at a young age and understandably seems uncomfortable in front of the camera.
During the Trump family's 2017 New Year Eve's celebration, the first family, Melania, Barron, and Trump, walked awkwardly apart from each other and looked unamused by the holiday celebration.
Meanwhile, the Obamas were dressed in holiday spirit for their 2017 Christmas card, which was actually a photo of the family from 2013.
If there's any photos that do Trump and Barron's relationship any justice, it's these.
It's not that the Trump family has no endearing photos together, they are just fewer and further between compared to the constant display of affection that Obama has with his daughters.
Part of what made the Obamas so lovable by the American public was the way their family interacted so genuinely. It's part of what gave the Obamas the relatable, down-to-earth reputation, because they were your typical, all-American family. It's one thing to have a knack for optics and putting your best foot forward for the spotlight, but the connection that Obama had with his children was unable to be staged or written off as any "political move."
