It makes sense, to some, to hold first daughter Ivanka Trump in high esteem. She’s an accomplished business women, a working mother and an educated public official. In fact, she and her husband Jared Kushner may be the most level-headed people on Trump’s team in that they’re not openly in favor of mass deportation, the persecution of LGBTQ+ groups and general law and order.
But Ivanka isn’t good for our government, and she definitely isn’t a positive role model for American women and girls. Feminism and female empowerment need not be projected unto every woman who has acquired some kind of professional and public status. If that’s the case, then it follows logically that we have to give Ann Coulter or Tomi Lahren some props for doing what it is that they do. However, even if we, as feminists, decided to praise Ivanka for her personal initiative and business acumen, we’re not really praising her, are we? What exactly did she do, in her own right, being born into her money, status and power? Like her father, the eldest Trump daughter is a product of bloated privilege. She’s not a self-made success, but sure likes to paint the picture that way.
Take, for example, her maternal health care proposal, which was praised by media pundits and moderates for its daring liberalness. Shockingly, it’s really not all that liberal. According to the ACLU, Ivanka’s proposal provides only six weeks of maternity leave at partial play, which doesn’t help low-income women or women who need extra time to recover from labor complications. It also excludes other forms of care that are not necessarily maternal, like elder care, disability care and the care of sick or dying spouse. Finally, it projects particular stereotypes unto women — that they’re the baby-makers, the caregivers and the matriarchs. Where are fathers and same-sex parents in this narrative?
Take her business interests, and just how entangled they are with the Trump administration and government. Kellyanne Conway famously and unethically promoted Ivanka’s brand on national television. Ivanka is also directly involved in shaping business taxes and regulations both here and abroad with her husband. She can make things very nice for herself and the Trump administration, profiting off of meetings with foreign leaders and tax code reform at home. The presidency lasts eight years, if you’re lucky, but business profits last a lifetime. The change she’s making now is change that will follow her private and professional life for the rest of her life.
In essence, Ivanka is a walking and talking brand. Out of all the Trump children, Ivanka best personifies the gilded façade that is Trump. She is an attractive, successful woman who looks like a political force to be reckoned with. But all she really does is project confidence and charisma without any real substance or idea behind it. It’s all a mirage, and she knows it, too. She has been caught lying on multiple occasions, and says just enough in interviews not to give away her political positions or plans.
What does Ivanka teach little girls, though? Well, the listen is simple: If your father is rich, and you’re somewhat more tolerable than Steve Bannon, you, too, can be successful. If you dodge tough interview questions, slap a smile on your face and cross your legs — instead of yelling and arguing on camera — you can easily be the most pleasant person in the White House.
Maybe Ivanka does have some sort of conviction and honesty in her. Made she is actually better than the people she’s surrounded herself with. But none of that matters because she has still chosen to comply with this administration. Because she is not openly against the Muslim Ban, of mass deportation, of the drug war, of tax cuts for the wealth, of Trumpcare or of electroshock therapy, her support is implicit. She is not a moderate, force of good; she’s a bystander.
