Ivanka Trump Quietly Takes On White House Duties Amid Brand Boycott
Three weeks after her father assumed office, Ivanka Trump has been quietly working behind the scenes. Pool reporters have spotted her in the West Wing where her husband, Jared Kushner, works as President Donald Trump’s senior adviser.
Last week’s highlights include accompanying her father to Delaware to visit the family members of a fallen service member and bringing her Mandarin-speaking daughter Arabella to the Chinese Embassy’s Lunar New Year festivity.
Even her 10-month-old son is helping his mom settle. “Taking a call in the White House with my personal assistant Theodore,” Ivanka captioned an Instagram photo she shared on Tuesday.
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In the years to come, Ivanka is expected to be a pivotal figure in her father’s responsibilities. As a child, Ivanka was used to observing how their family empire functioned. In her 2009 memoir, she wrote how their father insisted on teaching them the value of work.
“My father believed it was important for us to do hands-on work of some kind or other. He wanted us to get to know the people and the processes that actually made our company run, from the ground up. Even when we were kids, there was talk around the dinner table about how we all might join the family business some day.”
Her work for the Trump Organization eventually made Ivanka one of her father’s closest confidants. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway revealed that Ivanka helped her father choose his running mate “because she knows what Donald Trump expects.”
When rumors emerged that the 35-year-old is the “real First Lady” in the Trump presidency, Ivanka immediately labelled the speculations as “inappropriate.” She told ABC News via Vanity Fair, “There’s one first lady and she’ll do remarkable things.”
The mother-of-three relinquished not only her Trump Organization duties but her significant assets as well including common stock. Last month, she also stepped away from her eponymous clothing and accessories brand and let Abigail Klem take over as company president.
Despite severing her business ties, her brand was still rejected by high-end department store Nordstrom claiming the line’s “performance” was the reason. The retailer denied in a statement to Refinery29 that their decision was influenced by advocacy groups that denounced President Trump’s executive order on immigration.
“This was absolutely not political — it was exclusively based on the performance of the brand. Simply put, the performance has been difficult over the past year.”
After Nordstrom dropped the Ivanka Trump line from its fall collection, other retailers such as Neiman Marcus did the same which earned the ire of President Trump.
“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 wrote on Twitter.
Kellyanne, while speaking to Fox News, also supported Ivanka after the retailers’ actions. “Go buy Ivanka’s stuff, is what I would tell you,” she said.
“It’s a wonderful line. I own some of it. I fully — I’m going to just, I’m going to give a free commercial here: Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.”
Some complained that Kellyanne committed an ethical mistake by harping about Ivanka’s products. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said during the daily briefing that Kellyanne was already “counselled” over her statement.
Ivanka remains hush about the issue for she appears to be focused on embracing her new life in Washington. Her family decided to rent an abode in the Kalorama neighborhood where she has been seen visiting several hot spots such as local cafe Open City. Ivanka and Jared similarly went out on a date at Apprentice first season winner Bill Rancic’s RPM Italian.
As for the causes she will stand up for, Ivanka will continue to push for women empowerment, child care, and paid maternity leave.
[Featured Image by Mark Wilson/Getty Images]
