NEW YORK — (AP) Robert Trump died last night at age 71. The president visited him at a New York City hospital on Friday. White House officials said the president’s younger brother had become seriously ill recently. A cause of death was not immediately released.
Donald Trump said in a statement: “It is with heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight. He was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed. But we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. Robert, I love you. Rest in peace.”
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Robert functioned as the Trump family “fixer.” When things needed quiet action behind the scenes, he was their go-to guy. For instance, when the family brought suit against the president’s niece Mary in an attempt to prevent publication of her tell-all memoir, it was Robert who led the legal charge. Known as “the nice Trump,” he was personality-wise the polar opposite of his more flamboyant older brother. And although it seems to have been scrubbed from later accounts, he was often referred to as a “consigliere.” This prompted me to look it up. I had a sense of what this term means. But I just wanted to be sure.
Definition of consigliere
A person who serves as an adviser or counselor to the leader of a criminal organization, i.e. “the consigliere of a Mafia family.”
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