It should be noted that Trump Jr. was laughing and smiling as he told this story, and doesn't seem to harbour any resentment. During the same interview, he talked about how he was looking forward to spending the holidays with his father.
But according to the experts at the Emily Post Institute, an organisation known for training corporate executives on manners and civility, regifting personalised gifts - such as anything that's been monogrammed or engraved - goes against the basic rules of etiquette. The reason? If either the original gift-giver or the recipient found out, their feelings could be bruised.
Plus, the institute warns, "It's inherently deceitful, and good etiquette is about not only being respectful and considerate, but also honest. Honest in this case means being authentic and genuine, as well as not telling a partial truth. When you wrap a present and give as though you bought it yourself it says, 'I got this for you' while leaving out the rest, '. . . from someone else who gave it to me,' which, if the recipient did know, would likely be interpreted as lazy or short on thoughtfulness or effort on your part."
But that's not to say that regifting is always considered out of bounds. If the gift is brand new and comes in its original packaging, and is something that the new recipient will definitely want, then it's potentially fair game to pass it along, the Emily Post Institute says. In those cases, gift-givers are encouraged to be transparent. For example, the institute suggests telling a friend, "I received two copies of this book and want you to have one."
The etiquette institute's gift-giving guide doesn't offer any specific pointers about when it's acceptable to give someone the exact same present they gave you last year. But it seems safe to say that the answer is never.
