Root for Ivanka Trump
When Ambrose Bierce defined politics in his “Devil’s Dictionary” as “the conduct of public affairs for private advantage,” he may have been foretelling the reign of President Donald Trump.
Critics of Trump’s are frequently quick to charge him of trying to use his office to enrich his name brand; on Monday, Trump opponents began tweeting a picture of a billboard that featured Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, modeling for Trump Tower in Manila. As it turns out, the photo was taken in 2012 and the billboard removed years ago.
At the center of all these charges is Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who has curiously drawn the scorn of many of those who would normally claim to welcome a level-headed woman in the White House. When Ivanka was jeered for standing up for her father’s record on women’s issues at a public roundtable discussion in Germany last week, her detractors pounced.
“On stage: the chancellor of Germany, the managing director of the IMF & an unqualified jewelry designer who is included because of nepotism,” tweeted Brian Klaas, an observation that garnered over 17,000 retweets. In March, Saturday Night Live mocked the idea that Ivanka could separate herself from her father’s odious treatment of women, suggesting she endorse a new fragrance called “Complicit.”
These critiques, however, have moved us into a new era when young people are now on the hook for their parents’ behavior. It is no surprise that Ivanka likely loves her dad and wants to see him succeed. But the scorn she has received for refusing to condemn him publicly holds her to a standard that rarely has been applied to anyone else. (Especially males.)
And while it is certainly a novel arrangement to grant the first daughter an official office in the White House, there should be nothing wrong with the president having a related confidante close by. More traditionally, presidents have used first ladies as confidential sounding boards for policy; but if Melania Trump has no interest in the job, we should encourage Ivanka to fill that role.
Of course, nepotism laws are meant to prevent the president from hiring people who can’t be fired, but in this case, that seems like a bonus. Her public persona is one of being measured, levelheaded and articulate; and if she is the one who can deliver common sense advice to the president without fear of job recrimination, then more power to her.
Contrast the particular enmity leveled at Ivanka Trump with the nauseating praise heaped on another first daughter. Despite speaking publicly in tweets arid of wisdom yet dripping with selfregard, Chelsea Clinton has parlayed her former first daughter status into an industry all its own. Glossy magazines are clamoring more for Clinton to start her own political career than Snoop Dogg is for weed to be legalized.
Last month, word leaked that Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, had staged an inter-White House “velvet coup” against cantankerous chief strategist Stephen Bannon. Sources indicated that Ivanka was troubled by the damage being done to the family name during her father’s tumultuous first weeks in office.
Yet while this action looks selfserving, it helps us all. Donald Trump is going to be president for more than 1,350 more days — the more Ivanka can help him embarrass himself less, the greater America’s standing will remain in the world. We should encourage her continued involvement — especially if she can sit down and explain to her father why the Civil War started.
Christian Schneider is a Journal Sentinel columnist and blogger. Email cschneider@jrn.com . Twitter: @Schneider_CM