Donald Trump has a history of going off-script. But during the White House Christmas Reception on December 14, he swerved straight into another round of uncomfortable déjà vu involving his 44-year-old daughter, Ivanka Trump.
Midway through what he said was an “interesting story,” Trump stopped speaking and pointed into the crowd. His attention had locked onto a female journalist he claimed looked strikingly similar to Ivanka Trump. Then came the secondhand embarrassment. The president asked the woman to turn around so everyone else could see for themselves. He wondered whether it actually was Ivanka. “Boy, you look like Ivanka,” he said before asking if anyone had told her that before.
Trump then added that it was “a great compliment!”
Trump: “You look like Ivanka. Has anyone ever told you that? I’m looking,… I’m saying,… Could you turn around? So you wouldn’t,… I didn’t,… You look like jussst like Ivanka,…. which is a great compliment!”
Creepy AF. 😬 pic.twitter.com/wzvpzObC3S
— Roshan Rinaldi (@Roshan_Rinaldi) December 14, 2025
Within hours, viewers called the moment awkward at best and “creepy” at worst. One writes: “Why would bro say this?” Another pointed out that being compared to a politician’s daughter while doing your job as a reporter is uncomfortable.
But what made the moment louder was Ivanka Trump’s response to it, or rather, her complete lack of one. Instead of addressing the viral clip or her father’s comments, she took to Instagram Stories to share a staged glimpse of her holiday preparations. The image showed an elaborate gingerbread house with the names of her family (including that of herself, husband Jared Kushner, and their children Arabella, Joseph, and Theo) on the roof. Two more signs read “Happy Hanukkah” and “The Kushner Family.”
She also joked that two of the houses were DIY and invited followers to guess which ones. So yeah, there was absolutely no mention of her father. Many thought she was strategically distancing herself and wasn’t actually clueless.
So what?
Trump kisses Ivanka on the mouth
and caresses her thighs
Why don’t you write about that? https://t.co/QaH2aV9yCZ pic.twitter.com/dOvFio6Wy7
— kj martin (@martin_kj) December 9, 2025
Then again, we have to remember that this isn’t a one-off. Trump’s remarks about Ivanka have been weird for two decades. In 2006, on The View, he said, “If Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.” Around the same time, on The Howard Stern Show, he repeatedly called her “voluptuous” and praised her looks in ways that even left Stern stunned.
In 2013, during a joint appearance on The Wendy Williams Show, Ivanka named “real estate” and “golf” as traits she shared with her father. Trump responded with, “Well, I was going to say s–, but I can’t relate that to her.” The clip aged VERY poorly.
Former White House staffers and books have described Donald Trump making lewd comments about Ivanka Trump in front of employees, which often left people uncomfortable. Critics say he just disregards boundaries with women.
Through that lens, Ivanka Trump just avoided an all-too-familiar storm.
NEXT UP: Ivanka Trump’s NYC Birthday Bash Has Everyone Talking, And It’s Not Just About Her Black Mini Dress
