Ivanka Trump, the true first lady of the United States
Designated as "first daughter and advisor" to President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump takes center stage in the White House, as a First Lady would have done.
A child learns for the first time to crawl on all fours. The video could not be more trite and also shows his mother joining him and going into ecstasies. Except that this one is none other than Ivanka Trump and that the scene takes place in the dining room of the White House. Images should not be trusted, especially those Ivanka Trump posts on social media, like this Instagram video. She is not the First Lady of the United States. As the beloved daughter of Donald Trump, she is much more.
Because Ivanka Trump is also very present in the famous West Wing, the name of the building that houses the offices of the presidency. The real estate mogul has always mixed business and family and has done the same since entering politics. The Politico site thus revealed ten days ago that it had an office and access to confidential information.
Because it was necessary to put an end to the vagueness that surrounded her status, she announced Wednesday that she would "henceforth be an unpaid employee of the White House, subject to the same rules as other federal employees". Either the same status as her husband, Jared Kushner, also a close adviser to Trump. In the process, the White House was delighted, in a statement, that she chose this volunteer status for "her role, which has no precedent, of first daughter and advisor to the president".
Melania Trump the discreet
Unique to the White House, the "first daughter" is incomparably more exposed than the "First Lady". While Melania Trump stays in New York while Donald Trump's last son, Barron, finishes his school year, the girl sits alongside her father at official events, such as the one in honor of a commando team. American died in Yemen or during the visits of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"She is definitely replacing her mother-in-law," says Katherine Sibley, professor of history at Saint Joseph's University and specialist in First Ladies. Her father relies on her to accompany and advise him. There are precedents in presidencies such as those of John Tyler (1845-1849), by James Buchanan (1857-1861) or even by Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893), with the emphasis on daughters or nieces. " However, most of the time, they fulfilled the role of First Lady due to the president's widowhood.
Even if tabloids claim that Melania and Donald Trump would be cold, the installation planned for next summer in the capital of the First Lady could in part reshuffle the cards. In the meantime, her appearances, like that of Wednesday in Washington to greet women who have distinguished themselves in the fight against injustice, are rare. "At this time of [Barack Obama's] mandate, Michelle Obama had made about twenty appearances, in particular for the landscaping of the garden," recalls Katherine Sibley.
An influence to be determined
Ivanka Trump's case is all the more unique as she has become an important part of the presidential offices, which was not always the case with First Ladies. “Hillary Clinton had an office in the West Wing and Edith Wilson shared her husband's military secrets [Woodrow Wilson, president from 1913 to 1921] during World War I, recalls Katherine Sibley. But I don't think a girl has never been so involved. "
What influence will it have on Donald Trump's political choices? Its commitment to environmental protection, like its fight for equality between men and women, has often been highlighted by the American media. His father, however, signed with great fanfare a decree to reverse a law by Barack Obama restricting the use of highly polluting thermal power stations. From any point of view, Ivanka Trump is an unidentified political object.
