The truth about Ivanka's relationship with her father
Donald Trump may have five children - Don Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany, and Barron Trump - but there's only one he calls "Daddy's little girl." The president's ties to his eldest daughter, Ivanka, whom he welcomed with his first wife Ivana Trump on October 30, 1981, only grow stronger as she grows older. According to CBS News "Crash Course" on This First Girl, Ivanka graduated from Donald's Alma Mater, University of Pennsylvania, with a degree in economics. Throughout her professional life, she has appeared at the center of all of her father's real estate, showbiz and political activities… but more on all of that below.
Among the Trump children, Donald and Ivanka have a singular relationship, with POTUS making numerous comments over the years (some bordering on fear) to convey their closeness to the public. According to a source cited by People, Ivanka is "most like him" among her siblings, who all love their famous father "fiercely" and "desperately need approval." But even Donald's children publicly admitted to Barbara Walters on 20/20 that Ivanka is her "favorite child." And as Vanity Fair's special envoy Sarah Ellison once said to Express, “People who are close to Donald Trump say there is only one person in this White House who is not replaceable and it's Ivanka Trump. "
As a child Ivanka Trump attended brutal boxing matches with her father
As Ivanka Trump described in her 2010 memoir, The Trump Card: Playing to Win at Work and in Life, her favorite part of hanging out in Atlantic City as a kid with her dad, Donald Trump, and mom, Ivana Trump, were the nights her parents took her to boxing matches. It's not the most conventional father-daughter activity, of course, but Ivanka cherished family outings nonetheless, writing, “My brothers and I were usually the only kids in the arena - another plus of have your name on the marquee in front - and we were spotted with blood and sweat when one of the fighters received a hard blow to the jaw. "
Ivanka specifically recalled a fight she attended when she was just seven years old, when she saw her famous father jump into a chaotic boxing ring to calm the crowd when Mike Tyson knocked out his opponent in just 91 seconds. His takeaway? Not that the sport was too violent, but rather that his father was an admirable figure for "trying to do things right". Ivanka wrote: “I was amazed. I imagine it was a scary scene, but it never occurred to me to be afraid because my dad was there taking charge and doing his best to give the audience what he wanted. wanted to. "
Donald Trump would praise his young daughter in front of powerful colleagues
A young Ivanka Trump could always count on her father to answer her phone calls, no matter who he met in his office at the time. In a 2016 interview with CNN, Ivanka recalls calling Donald Trump at the age of 10 as "Gather with the Trump Organization" in the janitor's closet at Chapin School in New York. York, and hear her put her on speakerphone in front of her peers.
“They were colleagues, they were industry titans, they were country leaders,” said Ivanka. “He would always tell everyone in the room how great a girl I was, say cute things and ask me about a test I had taken. Discussing Donald's parenting style in the early years of his business growth, she added, “He always made us his top priority… He wasn't always physically present but he was always available. "
Ivanka once told a similar story to Harper's Bazaar, recalling how she called Donald from boarding school and listened to her father describe her as "the smartest [and] prettiest" to his important guests. "There is no doubt that my father appreciates beauty," said Ivanka, "but in my formative years, I never thought he appreciated it so much that it should make me uncomfortable. . "
Ivanka Trump reportedly sat on her father's lap as a teenager
Donald Trump's controversial 2020 book, Mary Trump, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man, claimed that Ivanka Trump had a particularly close relationship with her father as as a young woman, remembering a scene where they had shared a loving father-daughter moment together.
“Donald went to sit on the chair by the television and Ivanka climbed onto his lap,” wrote Mary Trump, describing a scene at Donald's family home in Queens, New York. Ivanka or pinching her cheek. Every now and then he stuck his foot out and kicked the boy who was pinned to the ground. "
While photos have regularly circulated on social media showing evidence of Ivanka sitting in Donald's lap, Reuters examined several snapshots of Donald appearing to inappropriately kiss or touch Ivanka, concluding that many important examples were photographed. and were not genuine. however, Snopes also checked a 1996 photo of then 15-year-old Ivanka sitting in Donald's lap at the family estate in Mar-a-Lago. Deciding that the photo has not been retouched or altered, but that viral claims that Ivanka gave Donald a "lap dance" were false, the site deduced that this example came from an innocent family outing.
Donald Trump joked about his daughter Ivanka
As Ivanka Trump grew older and became a public figure associated with her father's empire, Donald Trump took more liberties in the way he referred to his daughter in public, often joking about her beauty and physique.
In 2016, CNN discovered several examples of Donald making breathless comments about Ivanka's appearance on the Howard Stern syndicated radio show, from 2004. “By the way, your daughter… May I say this ? A piece of ass, ”said Stern, to whom Donald replied,“ Yeah. In a later appearance in 2006 on The Howard Stern Show, the titular host said of Ivanka, “Has your daughter had breast implants? … She looks more voluptuous than ever. In response, Donald replied, "No, she didn't understand them… She's always been very voluptuous, she's tall, she's almost six feet tall and… she's amazingly beautiful. "
Donald kept the praise in a joint appearance with Ivanka on The View that same year. Commenting on the possibility of Ivanka posing nude for Playboy, "he told hosts," I don't think Ivanka would do that in the magazine, even though she has a really nice figure. I said if Ivanka wasn't my daughter, maybe I would date her. Donald echoed those claims almost a decade later in a 2015 Rolling Stone interview, saying Ivanka, "Yeah, she really is something, and what a beauty, that one. If I wasn't married and, you know, her father… "Yikes.
Ivanka Trump worked alongside her father in the Trump organization
Donald Trump welcomed his daughter, Ivanka Trump, to his company as a protégé of sorts, where she worked for a decade alongside him in the Trump organization. Ivanka, who had pursued a modeling career before attending business school, joined the Organization in 2005, joking Harper's Bazaar two years later that she and her father had spent "too much time together."
Working as VP of Real Estate Development and Acquisitions alongside her father and brothers Don Jr. and Eric Trump, Ivanka also joined Donald on The Apprentice, the reality TV contest her father has. held in 2006. As she told GQ in 2007, she had "no interest in being a TV star," but instead agreed to appear on the show to "advance [her] ultimate goal of become a great developer. "
“I am not a clone and I am not a servant,” Ivanka added. “But I really believe I have this incredible opportunity to take such a strong brand - and so strong thanks to [my father] - and take it to the next level. That's why I made The Apprentice. Ivanka remembered how Donald was testing her to make sure she really wanted to follow in his footsteps, telling Harper's Bazaar 'Even though he knew I still wanted to get into real estate, when I got an offer to work in an amazing fashion magazine, he was like, 'oh that's so cool. Are you sure you don't want to go out there and do this? For a while, I got a little discouraged! "
Donald Trump is planning a reality show about Ivanka that never aired
Beyond Ivanka Trump's starring role on The Apprentice, Donald Trump intended to turn his daughter into a true TV star. In 2016, Jezebel discovered details of a reality show called Trump Tower Girls, which was lit in 2013 by E! and developed by Trump Productions. The show would feature real estate brokers from Trump International Realty alongside beauty queens who have entered Trump International beauty pageants, with Ivanka at the center of the show.
The goal of the series was allegedly to give Ivanka her own reality TV vehicle, like Donald had done with The Apprentice. With the award being a job at Trump International, the promotional materials claimed the women would do "whatever it takes to earn the payday of the week" - meaning "anything from a chartered plane to Monaco has a seven-figure commission ”.
The Ivanka-centric series was never aired after the Trump family pulled out of the project, with a source alleging Jezebel, “They felt their team was too small and they didn't enough interesting enough characters to follow. "
Ivanka Trump played a key role in her father's presidential campaign
When Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, Ivanka Trump emerged as an important asset to his father's campaign, the reality TV star turned politician winning the race.
When Donald encountered cries of sexism during the election campaign, Ivanka publicly touted her father as a feminist to The Sunday Times (via The Independent), claiming, “People talk about gender equality… He lived it, he's employed women at the highest levels of the Trump organization for decades, so I think that's a great testament to the ability he thinks women are and has shown his all of his life. "
She also appeared in TV commercials selling her father to voting mothers, telling the camera, “The most important job a woman can have is to be a mother, and that shouldn't mean a cut in pay… Donald Trump understands the needs of a modern workforce. Ivanka would enthusiastically continue for her father at the Republican National Convention, targeting female voters in his speech. “As president, my father will change the labor laws that were put in place at a time when women were not a significant part of the workforce,” she told the crowd. "And he will work to make quality child care affordable and accessible to all. "
As an adult, Ivanka Trump still calls Donald "daddy"
When Donald Trump assumed the presidency, Ivanka Trump joined her father's administration as an advisor. Despite their status as one of the most powerful father-daughter duos in the world, they still used animal names to refer to each other. During the 2016 election campaign, Donald told participants at a rally in Iowa about a child care plan Ivanka had pushed. "She was the one who pushed for this so hard," he said (via CNN), continuing to quote his daughter, "" Daddy, daddy, we have to do this. And that's right, she's very smart and she's right. "
Images then circulated of the president speaking in North Dakota in 2017, where he again cited his adult daughter's "dad" nickname. Shouting out Ivanka's presence at the event, Donald said, “She wanted to make the trip… She actually said, 'Dad, can I go with you?' I liked that. Joking about the speech after The Late Show, host Stephen Colbert broke down about Donald's comments, "Not at all weird. All of Trump's advisers call him "daddy." "
A 2019 profile of Ivanka in The Atlantic also highlighted the affectionate terms Donald and his daughter shared, noting that the president sometimes calls Ivanka "baby" in meetings they attend together.
Ivanka Trump's close relationship with her father put her at odds with Melania Trump
Ivanka Trump’s mother was Donald Trump’s first wife, Ivana Trump. After their divorce in the early 90s, Donald married (and later divorced) Marla Maples, before making Melania Trump his third wife in 2005. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ivanka's relationship with her stepmother wouldn't be perfect - and Mary Jordan is unauthorized. Biography, The Art of His Business: The Untold Story of Melania Trump, detailed their sometimes strained relationship in 2020.
According to Jordan's biography (via The New York Times), Ivanka allegedly referred to Melania as "The Picture" (a reported reference to how she rarely spoke), while Melania reportedly retaliated by calling Ivanka "The Princess." Additionally, when Melania initially stayed in New York after Donald's election victory and moved to Washington (per The Washington Post), Ivanka allegedly used the First Lady's official office - trying to rename it the "First Family Office" - before his mother-in-law arrives at the White House and takes control. "Some have said she treated the private residence as if it were her own home," Jordan wrote. “Melania didn't like it. When she and Barron finally moved in, she ended the revolving door ’by placing firm limits. "
Another book on the first lady, Kate Bennett’s Free, Melania: The Unauthorized Biography, contained claims (via Business Insider) that Melania believed Ivanka was "invading her turf." Remember the infamous Melania controversy "I don't care, do I? »Jacket? It was apparently a subliminal message to Ivanka.
Donald Trump has positioned his daughter as a world leader ... with mixed results
While acting as a valuable adviser and representative of President Donald Trump's administration, Ivanka Trump has publicly advocated for his policies, while occasionally defending him in interviews.
However, Donald's efforts to elevate his daughter to a world leader were met with derision in 2017, when Ivanka replaced him at a G20 summit meeting. Among the critical voices was Democratic Representative Maxine Waters, who criticized the administration's decision to send Ivanka as a replacement, telling MSNBC (via The Guardian), "Here you have the President of the United States at the G20 summit. international leaders, who represents us as the leader of the free world, and therefore he is going to play politics and give his daughter a chance to have a place in the sun and to be seen at a very important meeting that she does not know nothing. Following the incident, Donald defended his daughter on Twitter, "When I left the conference room for short meetings… I asked Ivanka to remain seated. Very standard. " Really?
Ivanka then had another frosty reception at the 2019 G20 summit, when video emerged of the first girl fitting into a circle of world leaders, including French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the head of the IMF. Christine Lagarde. At the time, Ivanka’s counterparts seemed uncomfortable with her presence.
Ivanka Trump sometimes disagrees with her father's decisions as president
Ivanka Trump is rarely a voice of public dissent in her father's presidential administration, but that doesn't mean she always agrees with Donald Trump's policies. In 2017, for example, she berated her controversial endorsement of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, who had been accused of sexually assaulting minors, telling Moore's Associate Press, "There is a special place. hell for people who prey on children. "
Ivanka later told Axios that, amid her father's repeated attacks on the American free press, she did not view the media as "the enemy of the people." Donald later responded to Ivanka's statements on Twitter, writing in part, “She correctly said no. It is the FAKE NEWS, which make up a large percentage of the media, that are the enemy of the people! In another Axios Interview, Ivanka was asked about the administration's controversial policy of separating migrant families on the US-Mexico border, calling it a "low point" in her White House tenure. . “I am very attached to this,” she said. “And I am firmly against separation from family and separation of parents and children. "
Amid criticism that she was complicit in her father's controversial policies, CBS News' Ivanka told Gayle King (via Time), "I would say not to confuse the lack of public denunciation with silence. I think there are many ways to make your voice heard. So where I disagree with my father, he knows it and I speak with total frankness. "
Body language experts say Donald Trump considers Ivanka his 'heir'
President Donald Trump is undoubtedly close to his eldest daughter, with experts breaking down the many ways Donald and Ivanka Trump seem to communicate their trust and affection in public.
Speaking to Raffinerie29 in 2018, body language expert Patti Wood observed that the first daughter frequently signals that she wants her father's approval, saying, “We see her desire to connect with him in many photos of her. 'them. While Donald would at times "[asserts] power over her," Wood asserted that Ivanka has often responded in ways, "[indicate] she believes she has some power in the relationship. "
According to body language expert Judi James (via Express), Ivanka and Donald also seem to mimic each other's actions, saying, “It's a dynastic look, with a few frequent reflections between them to suggest a similar thought in professional scenarios and respect seems as mutual as affection. Noting that "there seems to be an emphatic sense of" public pose "between Trump and Ivanka, defining them as a kind of" power duo "and reflecting the important role Ivanka holds in the President's team. White House, ”added James. Seems to signal this idea of him displaying a direct heir whom he trusts, promotes and approves. "
