Fact Check

Yes, Photos Do Show Trump with Daughter Ivanka Sitting on His Lap

"He is not weird! Why are you calling him weird?" social media users captioned two photos.

Published Aug. 31, 2024

 (X user @Jake2404663)
Image courtesy of X user @Jake2404663
Claim:
Two photos shared on social media authentically showed former U.S. President Donald Trump with his daughter Ivanka as a child sitting on his lap.

In early August 2024, a collage of two photos circulated on social media purportedly showing former U.S. President Donald Trump with his daughter Ivanka as a child sitting on his lap.

The images were often shared with the caption: "He is not weird! Why are you calling him weird?"

(X user @Jake2404663)

"God this just gives the creepy shivers looking at this," one Threads user commented.

The collage also appeared elsewhere on Threads and on other platforms, such as Pinterest, Imgur, and Know Your Meme.

In short, both photographs were authentic and indeed depicted the former president and his daughter, which is why we rated this claim and the images as "True."

The picture on the right of the collage was featured in a Time magazine article titled, "Ivanka Trump's Life in Pictures." According to the piece, the photograph was taken by Brian Smith at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, in 1996. Its caption read: "Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka."

Smith's official website also contained the image.

(www.archive.briansmith.com)

The picture on the left of the collage was sourced from Ivanka Trump's official Instagram account. Ivanka shared the image on Dec. 12, 2013, with the caption: "Me and my dad."

This was not the first time Snopes fact-checked images of Trump allegedly posing with young girls. In February 2024, we investigated a photo showing the former president with Ivanka as a child posing on a bed. Additionally, in January 2024, we debunked claims an image showed Trump with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and a young girl.

Sources

Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/h1tjodikNS/. Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.

Ivanka and Donald Trump Photographed at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida | Stock Photography Miami Photographer Brian Smith. https://archive.briansmith.com/image/I0000P2b1o7PUQv0. Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.

"See Ivanka Trump's Life in Photos." TIME.Com, https://time.com/ivanka-trump-pictures-photographs/. Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.

Wrona, Aleksandra. "Does Pic Show Trump and Epstein with Minor Girl?" Snopes, 9 Jan. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/epstein-trump-young-girl-photo/.

---. "Donald and Ivanka Trump Were Once Photographed Like This on a Bed?" Snopes, 15 Feb. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/ivanka-donald-trump-pic/.

Aleksandra Wrona is a reporting fellow for Snopes, based in the Warsaw, Poland, area.