US President Donald Trump’s younger brother Robert Trump died on Saturday reported AFP. Robert was 71 years old.

US President Donald Trump had visited his younger brother Robert Trump at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Friday. The 74-year-old president visited his brother on Friday staying with him for about 45 minutes. Robert was being treated in the hospital for an undisclosed illness.

The Office of the Press Secretary released a statement on its website saying: “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.”

Donald Trump, who stopped in New York for the weekend, had told reporters on Friday “he’s having a hard time.” Though less famous than his older brother, Robert Trump was born in 1948 and had long been an integral part of the family’s real estate empire. He was also fiercely loyal to the president.

Robert Trump even unsuccessfully went to court in order to try and get an injunction to prevent the publication of a book by his niece Mary Trump, called “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.”

The book painted Donald Trump as a product of a “toxic” family. Robert Trump had called the book a “disgrace”. Although a temporary restraining order was applied to the book due to Robert’s plea in court, it was lifted by a judge in July.

Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka tweeted on Saturday: “Uncle Robert, we love you. You are in our hearts and prayers, always.”