Ivanka: saving the world by whispering in dad’s ear whenever she’s off Twitter

IVANKA Trump is said to be very close to her father, the 45th President of the United States. So close that she recently revealed she will become an official employee in the White House, albeit an unpaid one. Nor should she need to be paid: the daughter of the billionaire tycoon-turned-president and her husband, Jared Kushner – a senior adviser to Trump – remain beneficiaries of a $740 million real estate and investment business despite their White House roles, according to reports in the US. And that’s before we get to Ivanka Trump’s stake in Washington DC’s Trump International Hotel. Ivanka, by all accounts, has led a wealthy and privileged life and now lays claim to the ear of one of the most powerful men in the world. Her father, Donald, appears to dote on her and defend her name, and in the practical terms of Trump America, that means the White House defends her name, too. Take department store chain Nordstrom, for example. In February, it announced it wouldn’t be buying Ivanka’s clothing line this season. In response, a furious President Trump took to Twitter to air his grievances over it. “My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person – always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!” he tweeted. A father defending his daughter is one thing – even if he does retweet it from the President’s official account – but it went further when White House press secretary Sean Spicer later added that Nordstrom’s decision was a “direct attack on [Trump’s] policies and her name”. Ivanka Trump’s lavish image made her an asset to Trump’s presidential campaign, and the role of her husband, Kushner, was integral to it. Yet her own public profile does not match that of her father, at least in terms of ethics. Rather, Ivanka has been known to use her online platforms to promote, for example, the advancement of women in the workplace, whereas her father’s rhetoric and behaviour have horrified women across the world, leading to global protests. As both Ivanka’s profile and power have increased, so has criticism. While she is easily outperformed by her father when it comes to courting controversy on social media, she has not been immune.

When Trump imposed the infamous “Muslim ban”, Ivanka was lambasted for posting a glamorous picture of herself and Kushner ready to attend an elite dinner, as protests raged.

So it seems that growing background grumblings have finally forced Ivanka to speak out in defence of herself. In a recent interview, she hit back at criticism that if she disagrees with her father’s policies, she doesn’t do enough about it.

“You ask me about people who criticise me for not taking to social media on every single issue and I think I would ask them if that would render me more effective or less effective with the people ultimately making decisions,” she said.

Presumably, then, Ivanka Trump hopes we’ll believe that when men in suits are signing orders affecting women’s reproductive health, she’s quietly having a word in Donald’s ear.

Perhaps we’re to believe that when it comes to banning Muslims and building walls between countries, we should seek solace in the knowledge that Ivanka may try to privately restrain her father’s hand while publicly enjoying the fruits of his office.

When the under-privileged face the battles they will meet in Trump’s new America, we should take heart from Ivanka’s silence and remember that she “hopes” to make a “positive impact”.

And when we see her laden with designer clothes and jewels, we should sit with our fingers crossed that she’s doing all the hard work behind the scenes.

She added in the interview: “We’re in a very unique time where noise equals, in a lot of people’s perception, advocacy. And I fundamentally disagree with that.”

Doubtless people in America and beyond will hear those words and quietly pray that Ivanka comes up Trumps; that she really does have influence over her father, and can use it to minimise the damage.

But others will see loyalty and PR. Words are easy; actions speak louder, and Ivanka Trump’s wealth and privilege put her in a compromised position.

It has taken her only months to become a White House employee despite earlier claiming that she wouldn’t take an official role next to her father.

Ivanka Trump may be the yin to her father’s yang on social media, but we’ve yet to see a great deal of evidence that the apple falls far from the tree.

Angela Haggerty is editor of the CommonSpace online news and views website, which you can find at www.commonspace.scot