A new anecdote from Gavin Newsom claims that Donald Trump once hoped his daughter Ivanka would date NFL legend Tom Brady, only for the future Hall of Fame quarterback to be ignored.
Advertisement
In his upcoming memoir Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, Newsom recounts a 2018 ride aboard Marine One with Trump and Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner. According to Newsom, the conversation took an unexpected turn when Trump began recalling a time when Brady was single and allegedly expressed interest in dating Ivanka.
Per Newsom’s account, Brady asked Trump for Ivanka’s phone number at a function, and Trump passed it along. Brady reportedly called and left a message, but Ivanka never returned it. Newsom writes that Brady later told Trump about the snub, prompting Trump to call his daughter and ask what happened.
Trump allegedly told Newsom that he said to Ivanka, “Jesus, you know, Tom Brady. What the hell is going on? Why aren’t you calling this guy back?” Ivanka’s response, according to the book, was simple. She told her father she was in love with Kushner, who was reportedly also present during Trump’s retelling of the story aboard the helicopter.
Newsom described an awkward pause after Trump pointed toward Kushner while recounting the moment. He claims Trump even joked that Brady would have been a better choice, adding, “Not even close, right, Gavin? Tom Brady. Tom Brady.”
Brady himself has addressed the long-running rumors. During a 2020 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, the former quarterback acknowledged the speculation but downplayed it. “That was a long time ago in my life,” Brady said. “Did I consider dating her? No, there was never really that where we ever dated or anything like that.”
Ivanka ultimately married Kushner in 2009, and the couple now share three children. Kushner later served as a senior adviser during Trump’s first term in office from 2017 to 2021.
Brady, meanwhile, went on to win seven Super Bowls and build a Hall of Fame résumé, spending most of his career with the New England Patriots before finishing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His personal life included high-profile relationships with actress Bridget Moynahan and supermodel Gisele Bündchen, whom he married in 2009 before their divorce in 2022.
While Trump may have envisioned a different outcome years ago, Ivanka’s decision was already made. According to Newsom’s account and Brady’s own comments, there was never a relationship to begin with, only a phone call that went unanswered.
