President Trump's second son Eric has told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that his parents' "sloppy divorce" helped him develop a thick skin that would serve him well navigating the public scrutiny that accompanied his father's campaign and presidency.
The younger Trump spoke candidly with Bartiromo in a rare interview on Fox Nation's "The First Family" during which he opened up about his "unconventional" upbringing and how he dealt with his parents' separation, which dominated the tabloid press at the time.
"I maybe never really put two and two together, but that's probably when we first started getting a little bit of the limelight, some of the attention, and I had to learn to not care," he told Bartiromo.
Eric, the youngest of Donald Trump's three children from his first wife Ivana, was eight years old at the time of the divorce.
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The younger Trump told Bartimoro that despite the "very tough and public" split, his mother supported Trump's presidential bid.
"What's most interesting is, if you think about this relationship is, you had two people, they broke up, they went their separate ways, very sloppy divorce covered by everybody around the world," Eric said. However, he added, "if you ask her about him, she will say he's the greatest president, and that says a lot coming from an ex-wife, especially in light of a very tough and very public divorce."
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Eric described his father's parenting style as "unconventional, but also incredible."
"He was less the 'Let's go out in the yard and play ball' [parent], but he was much more the 'Let's go walk construction sites of these 70 story towers flying up ...," he recalled.
"But," Eric clarified, "he was also strict. You had to do well in school. Every day I left, I was six years old, he would say 'no drinking, no drugs, no smoking.' That's who he was. He was always so disciplined, but at the same time he gave us enough latitude when we were young professionals to spread our wings a little bit and learn."
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Despite Donald's no-nonsense approach, Eric said mother Ivana assumed the role of "disciplinarian."
"She's incredible," he said of his mother. "She's one of these special people, I've seen very few in my life, who can be elegant but tough as nails. She was very tough, she was definitely the disciplinarian but an amazing person. She can be so friendly, very warm ...
"She says what's on her mind. In fact, she's much like my father in that way," he added. "He was tough, but ... she ruled with an iron fist. You said thank you, you said please, you opened doors."
Eric's full interview and more exclusive behind the scenes footage from "The First Family" is available on Fox Nation as part of the 'Trump Nation' collection showcasing the life and legacy of the 45th U.S. president.
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