Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump made a rare joint public appearance as they joined Donald Trump at the New York Stock Exchange for the opening bell on Thursday.
Tiffany Trump, the president’s other daughter, was also there.
The president-elect was surrounded by admirers during his big moment: his first opening of stock trading. Trump made a name for himself as a real estate magnate in New York.
Incoming Vice President J.D. Vance and Cabinet nominees Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Scott Bessent, Ben Carson, Kelly Loeffler, Pam Bondi, Elise Stefanik and Lee Zeldin were also present for his big day.
The group surrounded the president as he delivered opening remarks before the formal bell rang.
‘Thank you very much. This is a huge honor. I have brought some of our fellow Americans with me and they will do a wonderful job for you over the next four years,” Trump said.
Vance stood between Melania and Ivanka, who were said to have had a tense and sometimes competitive relationship. Tiffany, who is expecting her first child, stood next to her sister.
Donald Trump (center) prepares to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange – to his right are Melania Trump, JD Vance, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump
Each woman wore a power pant suit for the occasion: Melania in gray with a white shirt, while Ivanka and Tiffany were both in all black.
Melania Trump has sounded the alarm before. When she was first lady, she called this as part of her promotion for her Be Best campaign.
Trump acknowledged that his wife had defeated him on this one, noting that she was “very popular” as first lady.
“She rang the doorbell,” he said.
When the formal bell rang, the two women stood apart again and applauded as Trump pressed the button to open day trading. Time CEO Jessica Sibley stood between them.
The stock exchange erupted in applause as traders shouted “USA, USA, USA.”
Trump has promised to restore the American economy as president. Voters condemned President Joe Biden for high inflation and high food prices.
Trump rang the bell in honor of his nomination as Time’s Person of the Year.
The president-elect basked in the moment, thanking Time Magazine and New York Stock Exchange Chairman Jeff Sprecher in his remarks before the bell rang.
‘Thank you very much. And Jeff and all the people at the New York Stock Exchange. He knows how much I like it, because I bought a building across the street years ago.’
He also spoke about his incoming president, bragging that it would be a “great run.”
“I think we’re going to have a great run. We need to solve some big problems in the world. When we left we had none of these problems. We didn’t have Russia with Ukraine, Israel on October 7, we didn’t have the disaster in Afghanistan, we didn’t have inflation. We had no inflation. And we had a very strong economy. And we will do it again,” he said.
Trump will take office on January 20.
Donald Trump at the formal bell at the New York Stock Exchange
President-elect Donald Trump signs a guestbook after ringing the opening bell
President-elect Donald Trump, Melania Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, during a Time Magazine Person of the Year ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange
Donald Trump gives his signature raised fist wave at the stock market
It is the second time that 78-year-old Trump has been named Person of the Year. He also received the title in 2016 after his first victory in the presidential elections.
It comes after Trump dominated headlines over the past 12 months with his third bid for the White House and his decisive victory last month.
The president-elect also survived an assassination attempt in July and in May became the first US president to be convicted of a crime.
Every year since 1927, the magazine has named a person, group or concept that has had the “greatest impact – for good or ill – on the world in the past twelve months.”
Trump said in his interview that his astonishing victory was due to hitting the “nerve of the country… the country was angry.”
Trump joins thirteen other US presidents to have been named Person of the Year, including most recently President Biden who received the title in 2020.
Besides Trump, seven of those presidents have been named Time’s Person of the Year more than once.
Donald Trump is Time’s Person of the Year
Donald Trump waves with Melania as he walks across the show floor
President-elect Donald Trump stands for a selfie after ringing the opening bell
A rare photo of Ivanka Trump and Melania Trump standing together – they stood side by side as they watched Donald Trump’s inaugural parade in January 2017
Trump has long been obsessed with being on the cover of Time Magazine.
Marc Benioff, Chairman of Time Inc. and CEO of Salesforce, supported Trump in the election. He and Ivanka Trump are old friends and worked together on a campaign for 1 trillion trees during the first Trump administration.
Ivanka served as her father’s senior adviser for her first four years in the White House, but will not formally join his administration this time.
There were reports that she and Melania Trump went to war during Trump’s first administration.
At the time, Ivanka was eyeing the East Wing office space, looking to revamp the area so it could house the offices of the entire Trump family. Melania put an end to that.
The two women had little overlap in the White House complex.
In fact, they were rarely seen together and rarely photographed together. She never organized a joint initiative or event.
During Donald Trump’s second campaign, both women kept their distance.
Neither attended a debate or a campaign rally, although both were at the Republican National Convention.
Melania and Ivanka are expected to be together again in January, when Trump takes the oath of office for the second time.