Washington: Robert Trump, the younger brother of President Donald Trump, has passed away at the age of 71, the White House said in a statement late Saturday.
“It is with heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight,” the president said in the statement. “He was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again.”
The president traveled to New York City on Friday to visit his ailing younger brother who was back in hospital.
It is not clear what the cause of his death was. The White House did not disclose Robert Trump’s illness and the date of his most recent hospitalization.
He was one of Trump’s four siblings and recently filed a lawsuit to block the publication of a book by their niece, Mary Trump. The tell-all memoir, “Too Much and Never Enough, How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” was published ahead of schedule after Robert failed to stop its release.
Robert Trump argued that Mary Trump violated a nondisclosure agreement she signed with him, Donald Trump and their sister.
Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and a senior White House advisor, said on Twitter: “Uncle Robert, we love you. You are in our hearts and prayers, always.”
