Trump's power daughter Ivanka strikes a nerve
WASHINGTON — She is the powerful, glamorous first daughter, a woman even liberals hoped would be a moderating influence on her presidential father. Today, the reputation of divisive White House figure Ivanka Trump is under siege.
The impeccably presentable working mom has emerged as a lightning rod for many Americans disappointed with the Trump clan, but particularly among Democrats who had envisioned her as a voice of reason in Donald Trump's rollercoaster administration.
The wife of close Trump adviser Jared Kushner had vowed to influence her father on multiple subjects, from child care to climate change.
But she has been branded "complicit" for letting Trump undo key pay equity rules, cowardly for her failure to speak up forcefully on issues including her father's misogyny, and accused of co-opting feminism by convincing women that candidate Trump had their best interests at heart.
Most recently, a comedian hurled a gendered fourletter expletive at her for not adequately addressing immigration concerns.
She has attended private discussions with world leaders, including a dinner with South Korea's president to discuss the US nuclear standoff with Pyongyang.
And she briefly sat in for Trump at a G-20 meeting, earning accusations of nepotism by those miffed by her insufficient diplomatic qualifications for the role.
Ivanka drew flak in March when she was all smiles celebrating the controversial relocation of the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, as Israeli forces killed dozens of protesting Palestinians in Gaza.
Recently she was bombarded with accusations of tone deafness after tweeting a photo of herself hugging her son while outrage swelled over the Trump administration policy authorizing separation of border-crossing children from their parents.
During a segment about the policy on Wednesday's "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee," the host used the C-word to describe the first daughter, shocking language even by today's standards.