Robert Trump, 71, President Donald Trump's younger brother, died Saturday at a hospital in New York, Donald Trump announced in a statement.
"It's with a heavy heart that I announce that my beloved brother, Robert, passed away peacefully tonight. He wasn't just my dad, he was my best friend. He 's going to be deeply missed, but we're going to meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever.
Donald Trump is scheduled to attend funeral for his brother. But no specifics were available on plans immediately. In fact, a familiar source said the President directly directed his brother's comment to the White House.
"Uncle Robert, we love you. You 're always in our hearts and prayers," Ivanka Trump posted Saturday evening on Twitter.
The president late on Saturday called his brother's hospital room, as his death seemed to be near, two people familiar with the matter told CNN. It is uncertain if they were related or if the condition of Robert Trump allowed him to talk to the President by phone.
Separately, a number of people who talked to Trump Saturday said he appeared distressed by his brother's potential loss.
Donald Trump made a last minute decision to meet his brother in New York Friday as he traveled to New Jersey for the weekend.
Robert Trump was admitted into Manhattan's New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
Reports on the illness of Robert Trump were not released. He had been sick for several months, a person knowledgeable in the matter.
Trump refused to send reporters information of his brother's illness at a White House briefing on Friday.
"I've got a wonderful brother. We've had a fantastic friendship for a long time, from day one, so long ago. And right now, he's in the hospital," Trump said Friday when asked about his dad.
"Hopefully he'll be fine, but he's — he's pretty — he 's going to have a rough time," he said.
As he went to see his brother Trump later Friday, he told reporters: "He's having a rough time."
The younger Trump has previously been admitted to hospital in June for an unidentified medical condition identified.
Robert Trump was serving as Trump Organization's executive vice president. Part of his duties include overseeing Atlantic City casinos for the company.
Born in 1948, Robert Trump was one of the President's four siblings including the late Fred Trump, Jr. He was a former high-ranking Trump Organization executive. Earlier this year he married Ann Marie Pallan and previously dated Blaine (Beard) Trump.
Prior to his death, Robert Trump lived in the Hudson Valley in Millbrook, New York.
Robert Trump said he supported his brother's presidential run in 2016 and he hosted events and fundraisers for his brother and other Republicans in Millbrook according to Town & Country.
In June, Robert Trump filed a temporary restraining order in an effort to block Mary Trump, daughter of Fred Trump Jr., from writing an unflattering tell-all novel.
In a statement to The New York Times at the time, Robert Trump said he was "deeply disappointed" with the decision by Mary Trump to publish the book, which included details about the family, childhood and upbringing of the president.
Mary Trump said earlier this week in an interview with Greenpeace that Robert Trump was ill and had been hospitalized "a few times in the last three months."
CORRECTION: This article and report are revised to correct the age of Robert Trump. He was 71.