Who is Ivanka Trump really?
Who is Ivanka Trump really? Her book, released Tuesday in bookstores, supports the "mission" that she has chosen to defend, women combining professional and family responsibilities, while revealing some facets of the golden life of the favorite daughter of the American president.
The 243 pages of Women at Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success, published by Penguin, were written before Donald Trump's surprise election by this 35-year-old ex-model, now a businesswoman and mother of three.
Only the preface was added, just before the investiture, by an Ivanka who suddenly became, with her husband Jared Kushner, the center of attention, as they seem to be able to weigh on an inexperienced president.
To avoid fueling the conflict of interest accusations that plague the billionaire and his family - she left the Trump Organization and running her clothing company, but continues to earn income - part proceeds from the book will go to good works.
And the release of the book is not accompanied by any publicity or promotional tour.
As for the content, it is in line with its Twitter and Instagram accounts, perfectly apolitical and manicured: advice after advice for women who want to combine career, family and glamor, from the decision to start a family or not to maintenance techniques, including the choice of leisure activities (she enjoys gardening, and has beautiful properties at her disposal to indulge in with her children).
"Multidimensional woman"
The book is brimming with references to other women from the still-restricted club of successful leaders, from media superstar Oprah Winfrey to Facebook number two Sheryl Sandberg to fashion pope Anna Wintour, who offered to hire her at Vogue when she was studying at the prestigious Wharton School in Pennsylvania.
Flick to the anti-Muslim rhetoric of the Trump administration: she also mentions Umber Ahmad, the daughter of Pakistani immigrants today very glamorous, creator of a famous pastry shop after having been a banker.
The "First daughter" also reveals a little of herself, but without ever departing from "the extraordinary discipline" which characterizes her, unlike her father, Vanity Fair underlined Tuesday.
She pays tribute to her Czech mother, Ivana, Trump's first wife, the perfect incarnation, according to her, of "the multidimensional woman", capable "of meticulously inspecting", "in stiletto heels", the construction of a hotel. while women in real estate were still scarce.
She also explains having hesitated for a long time to expose her family on social networks, which she does with a certain talent for self-promotion today: she was particularly afraid of "undermining (her) authority in the eyes of (her) colleagues and peers, in a sector dominated by men ”.
She prides herself on having, in the company she created, advanced the cause of women, by allowing very flexible schedules or by "setting an example", by bringing her children to the office or by leaving early. pick them up at school.
Princess life
The examples she gives nevertheless betray the lifestyle of a princess, "through her social class", the New York Times commented on Tuesday: she tells in particular how her daughter joined her every Wednesday for lunch in her Trump office. Tower - very close to her apartment on Park Avenue - where a table specially set up for her contained “candies, toys, crayons and colored markers”.
And when she traveled a lot at the end of her father's electoral campaign, she admits having had to give up "giving herself massages".
Nanny or housekeeper who assist her on a daily basis are also almost absent from her story, even if she thanks them by passing at the end of the book.
Ivanka, who had pushed her father during the campaign to promise to introduce paid maternity leave and help with childcare costs, briefly returns to this question at the end of the book.
"We have to fight for that to change, whether it is by law or in companies", she said without giving more details.
Despite severe criticism Tuesday from several American media, the book could be successful simply because of the interest aroused by the "First Girl". His first book, published in 2009, had already been a bookstore success.
