In his recently published memoir titled Under Siege, released on October 14, 2025, businessman Eric Trump, aged 41, provides personal insights regarding his sister, Ivanka Trump, and her adolescent admiration for a prominent musician who has since expressed public opposition to former United States President Donald J. Trump.
Eric Trump asserts that during her youth, Ivanka developed a particular fondness for Axl Rose, the lead vocalist of the rock band Guns N’ Roses. According to his account, she displayed a signed poster of the musician in her bedroom at Trump Tower, describing Rose as her “first crush,” characterized by his distinctive tattoos, signature bandanna, ripped jeans, and leather jacket.
Eric further recounts that he was reminded of his sister’s youthful admiration for Rose during a family flight aboard Trump Force One on Election Day 2024, while the song “November Rain” was playing. He noted that Ivanka, who attended Choate Rosemary Hall and graduated in 2000, had grown up listening to Guns N’ Roses, a band that achieved international acclaim in the 1980s and 1990s with songs such as “Paradise City” and “You Could Be Mine.”
Notwithstanding Ivanka Trump’s youthful admiration, Axl Rose has, in subsequent years, been publicly critical of both Donald Trump and his administration. Notable instances include a December 2016 performance in Mexico City, during which audience members were invited on stage to destroy a piñata resembling Donald Trump.
Further, in 2018, following Ivanka Trump’s televised remarks defending her father against allegations of misconduct, Rose publicly rebuked her on social media, stating: “What’s inappropriate is Ivanka Trump being part of the White House administration.” That same year, he issued additional criticisms concerning President Trump’s meeting with musician Kanye West, describing the encounter as “attention-seeking nonsense” unlikely to address substantive social issues.
In 2020, Rose articulated his broader disapproval of the Trump administration through a statement on X (formerly Twitter), writing:
“My disdain for our current administration and what I perceive as its threat to our democracy is no secret.”
He further clarified that his online communications stemmed not from self-promotion but from “a sense of outrage, obligation, and responsibility to speak when silence would be complicit.” Rose concluded by identifying himself as “a citizen with opinions” motivated by the desire for “what’s best not just for our country, but for humanity.”#newsafro_
