During family ski trips Trump used to 'jab at his children with a pole' to get down the mountain first

President Donald Trump used to “jab” his children with a pole during family ski trips in order to get ahead of them as they raced down the mountain, according to a new report that documents the budding political rivalry among the Trump children.

Trump sought to cultivate a competitive, ruthless mentality among his children as they grew up.

Donald Trump Jr., 41, who was once viewed as a liability, is beginning to elbow his way in front of his younger sister Ivanka Trump, according to the report.

Though Ivanka, 37, serves in the Trump administration and has long had her father's favor, Trump Jr. has emerged as a natural representative for the president along the campaign trail.

President Donald Trump cultivated a “Darwinian dynamic” within his family as his children grew up, which at times involved poking his children with a pole to get ahead of them as they raced down the mountain on family ski trips, according to a lengthy report in The Atlantic.

Trump wanted to teach his children to be suspicious of others and competitive — and sibling rivalry “flourished” as a result.

This has spiraled into a battle for supremacy to become the president's favorite among his eldest children in the present day, the report argues.

Though Ivanka Trump has always had a close relationship with her father and continues to serve in his administration, her older brother Donald Trump Jr. has emerged as as a de facto spokesperson for his father — riling up supporters at rallies across the country and relentlessly defending the president on Twitter.

In short, though Ivanka initially seemed to be the Trump child who might leverage the most out of his presidency, Trump Jr. has evolved from being viewed as a liability to a political animal whom his father relies upon along the campaign trail.

Eric Trump has focused more on running the family business than politics. Trump's youngest children, Tiffany and Barron, are also on much different paths than Ivanka and Trump Jr.

Trump Jr. and Ivanka are now engaged in a “cold war” as they squabble for Trump's approval and in the process both are “paranoid that the other's henchmen” have been “planting damaging stories about them in the press,” according to The Atlantic, which cited interviews with White House advisers as well as Trump campaign aides and ex-employees.