Ivanka Trump says goodbye to the White House with an uncertain future: this has been her four years as 'first daughter'
Ivanka Trump's absence from Joe Biden's inauguration invites questions about the future of her political career. She also contrasts with her parting words as a White House adviser. In her latest statement, the 'first daughter' said that serving Americans under her father's rule has been "the greatest honor of her life" but, where Donald Trump affirmed that the family "will already find a way to return" to The administration, Ivanka took a neutral position: stating that she hopes that the nation can "move on" and that citizens will succeed in "recognizing their differences and finding common ground."
This measured speech, which later continues along patriotic paths, fueled the existing expectation about whether or not she would attend her inauguration. After several weeks of speculation, with sources claiming that Ivanka would have stood up to her father to protect her own future in politics, NBC News reported that "attendance was not expected" at yesterday's ceremony, where former Vice President Mike Pence was the sole representative of his legislature.
Protocol has never been the Trumps' highest priority, who for the first time since 1952 have also not offered the "tea and tour" meeting that America's first ladies generally star: Melania Trump did not welcome Jill Biden, as Michelle Obama did with her, nor the family that will take over from the White House. For their part, Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, would have spent their last hours in the Oval Office reviewing the 100 pardons that the president has offered to his allies before leaving Washington and heading to Florida in an inglorious flight before the ceremony.
What future awaits Ivanka after taking possession of her? We analyze the figure of President Trump's daughter: from model to businesswoman and one of the most influential advisers to her father, her thoughts and intentions are the best kept secret of the last legislature.
The assault on the Capitol, a blow to his image
Her cameras captured her a few days ago vacating the west wing of the White House and wearing her father's colors. In a red dress and the devious control that characterizes her, it is difficult to guess what is going through her head: Ivanka Trump has spent four years building a political career that, according to gossip, falters in the light of events of the last few weeks. With his insufficient and belated condemnation of the assault on the Capitol, the president's daughter may have lost her last support among the American elite.
According to statements obtained by Vanity Fair magazine, Jared Kushner and Ivanka would have become "plagued" even within their social circle after an insurrection where the role of Ivanka is not clear. On the one hand, sources assure that the 'first daughter' would have had a key influence in the televised intervention in which Donald Trump, although he failed to condemn the assault, called on the protesters to contain the violence and respect the security forces . On the other hand, she herself was forced to delete a tweet in which she described as "patriots" the same mass of people to whom her father said live: "We love you, you are very special, gone home" .
Several media report that this would have destroyed the legitimacy of Ivanka, who in her complicit silence and her loyalty to her father has lost the trust of her more moderate allies, including tycoons, business colleagues and students and even her sister-in-law. model Karlie Kloss. However, she continues to be singled out as a potential presidential candidate, and she could resume her political career in Florida.
Ivanka Trump, a 'meticulously ambiguous' figure
Is Ivanka more level-headed and moderate than Donald Trump or is she just the kind face of her father, whom she stands behind even in his most controversial decisions? The mogul and his heiress have been conscientiously opaque on this matter, and it is very difficult to determine the extent of influence Ivanka has had as an advisor.
For many, a cum laude graduate of the Wharton School and until recently a friend of Chelsea Clinton, she has always been in charge of damage control: responsible for tempering Trump's outbursts behind the scenes but, in public, always loyal to her last name. . And this version, desirable even to detractors of Donald Trump - who want to see in the heiress a more temperate future for the Republican party - seems to the liking of Ivanka herself. The real or imaginary distance that separates her from hers, her father, may be the golden ticket that makes her succeed where he, after paving her way, has failed.
Perhaps that is why, when she has been asked the question directly, she Ivanka has chosen to remain ambiguous. He avoids commenting on his father's decisions that cause the most injuries, such as the immigration issue or racial violence in the United States, and a quote from him is repeated: “People ask me if I ever disagree with my father, and it would be a little strange if it weren't ”.
Ivanka insists on this division between the public and the private even when, in politics, public discourse is the only official discourse: "I would say that the lack of public denunciation should not be confused with silence," she told journalist Gayle King in an interview with CBS News that addressed these issues. "I think there are many ways to make your voice heard. When I disagree with my father, he knows it. I express myself with total candor."
He knows it, but we don't: the only explicit message that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have conveyed during Trump's tenure is that of a totally united front in support of the one who today becomes the former president of the United States. Her actions say the opposite of this calculated distancing: she travels on his behalf to Jerusalem, Abu Dhabi and the G20 summit, while applauding Donald Trump's "spontaneous" character and the way he "always says what he says. think". She sticks to the official speech, and questions from the press often go unanswered.
The 'Ivanka brand': feminism, work and family
Before his electoral victory, Donald Trump was already clear about what Ivanka's official powers were going to be. What he defined at the time as "issues of critical importance to women and families" has been transformed into a slogan: "the economic empowerment of women", which would include support for small businesses and job creation.
In fact, Donald Trump generated great controversy by stating, at the end of 2019, that Ivanka was responsible for the creation of 14 million jobs. A statement that inflamed several media and that Forbes magazine carefully analyzed and partially denied: what Ivanka did was agree with more than 300 companies to create internship programs and other types of opportunities, although several of these agreements were not exclusively due to to her efforts and many were tacitly closed before the 'first daughter' entered the picture.
Regarding the feminist question, Ivanka represents with her image a conservative turn that, however, does not hesitate to embrace the term. She is pro-life, against abortion and an advocate for the family, but she is a businesswoman and states: “I believe in gender equality at 1000 percent, which makes me a feminist by definition. And it makes me proud ”. And she extends it to her father, above the scandals that she has starred in: “I think she is a feminist. It is one of the main reasons why I am the woman that I am. "
If Ivanka has been the visible face of Trump's employment policies, it is her husband, Jared Kushner, who is credited with diplomatic work in the Middle East and Israel's peace agreements with Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. .
Ivanka timeline: from model to White House 'first daughter'
1996-2002: Ivanka makes her modeling debut at age 14. She then was not the daughter of Donald Trump, but of Ivana: a Czech model and skier who made her her legacy on the catwalks. She was the cover of Seventeen at the age of 16 and walked for Versace, Marc Bouwer or Therry Mugler. In her public appearances, she insisted that she had been raised as a child to understand the value of money. She wanted to travel to Paris to study French and economics and attend the University of Pennsylvania, considered one of the best management schools, to dedicate herself to constructing and managing buildings.
2002-2007: Ivanka enters the business world and takes over the legacy of Donald Trump. In 2002 she joined fortunes with Paris Hilton to start a small business; in 2005, Diva magazine interviewed what she had been dubbed "the $ 1 billion girl." In 2007 Hola magazine featured the vice president of the family business: at age 24, she became the youngest member of the Trump University board of directors and founded a jewelry line.
2008-2016: Ivanka begins her relationship with Jared Kushner, New York's youngest editor. Although her father is initially opposed to her conversion to Orthodox Judaism, both families approve and pay for the marriage. Her jewelry line grows and she founds a clothing brand with windows in the United States, Canada, and several Arab countries. She has three children with Jared Kushner.
2016-2017: Her father announces the firm intention to circumvent the laws against nepotism to make a place for Ivanka in the White House if he is elected. It is announced that he will be in charge of "issues related to women and the family." Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner resign from public pay - their companies continue to generate profits - and participate in international meetings. Ivanka's clothing brand succeeds in China.
2018-2020: His friendship with Chelsea Clinton cools down, criticizing his role in incorporating hatred into American political discourse. In 2019, her father shuffles her placing her at the head of the world bank, but Ivanka finally rejects it. She strengthens the influence of the Trump-Kushner marriage over members of the Trump cabinet such as John Kelly or the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. They work on relations with North Korea, the Middle East and the Middle East. Ivanka's public image as an "entrepreneurial feminist" and promoter of employment is consolidated, although she affirms: "The most important job that any woman can have is to be a mother."
