Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump's eldest daughter and his former adviser, was in the past one of the most important people in the former president's entourage. However, she did not get involved in the current campaign at all, becoming – as the New York Times writes – “a silent observer”. Why?
Ivanka Trump, 43, is one of the former president's three children USA and Ivana Trump, who died in 2022. During her father's reign, Ivanka was his advisor and appeared by his side on almost every important occasion.
The New York Times reminds that during the former president's last two campaigns, Ivanka was one of the most involved people in his immediate environment – she appeared at rallies, in election spots and on the stages of national conventions. But two years ago, when her father began his third campaign for the White House, she announced that she and her husband were withdrawing from politics and their priority was their children and family life. – While I will always love and support my father, I will do so outside the political arena – she spoke in November 2022.
“So in her father's most fierce and probably final campaign, Ivanka Trump – his oldest daughter, former top aide and perhaps his closest family member – became a near-silent observer, apparently with no intention of publicly promoting his candidacy in any way,” writes the NYT “.
Donald and Ivanka Trump at Ivana Trump's funeral. Photo from July 2022PAP/EPA/JASON SZENES
She decided that she was “closing this chapter of her life”
The New York Times notes that Ivanka decided to withdraw from actively supporting her father during the campaign when he was charged in four separate criminal cases in 2023.
Her husband Jared Kushner, quoted by the New York daily, said that by making such a decision and leaving Washington, she felt that she was “closing this chapter of her life.”
He also suggested that the outcome of the contest between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris may not change much for their family. – Of course, the world will be different for us in the next four years if her father becomes president, but that will not change what is our priority, (…) We support him – of course, we are proud of him. But, one way or another, our lives will just go on, he admitted.
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“Shadow Secretary of State” and “Kissinger 2.0”
However, those who view the activities of Ivanka and her husband less favorably point out that the couple's withdrawal from active politics may have a more prosaic reason – business.
Kushner, who served as a senior adviser in the Trump White House under Trump, currently manages a $3 billion private fund financed by the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and others, among others. Qatar.
“NYT” writes that if Trump returns to the White House, there will be a series of constant questions about whether Ivanka and her husband will be able to count on special treatment when concluding new contracts, especially when the transactions directly concern foreign governments.
Vicky Ward, author of the book “Kushner Inc,” which focuses on the couple's business activities, suggested that Kushner could have a behind-the-scenes influence on the Trump administration's actions as a kind of “shadow secretary of state” or “Kissinger 2.0.” to the government. In a way, they have already proven that the government is really good business for them,” she adds, quoted by the daily.
Jared Kushner and Donald Trump. Photo from 2020KEVIN DIETSCH / POOL / PAP / EPA
From Washington to the “billionaires' bunker”
“NYT” writes that Ivanka Trump and her family's withdrawal from supporting her father was discreet. In 2021, they left Washington with their three children and went to Miami. This move was interpreted by some as a kind of forced exile from New York, where they had lost the sympathy of their former friends and acquaintances due to their work in the Trump administration, as well as after the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The family moved to an oceanfront apartment in Surfside, a town north of Miami Beach, and then bought a mansion in Indian Creek Village, a gated island community in Biscayne Bay sometimes called Florida's “billionaire bunker.” There are only a few dozen houses there, protected by private police.
What is Ivanka's life like now? “Ordinary and charming”
“NYT” writes that Ivanka was associated with her father's ventures from an early age. After college, she worked at Trump's companies and frequently guest-starred on his reality show “The Apprentice,” and developed her own business selling clothes and jewelry.
“She hung out with celebrities like Chelsea Clinton and Rupert Murdoch, appeared at the Met Gala several times, and married Kushner in 2009, (…) But much of that social life came to a halt after the couple left for Washington “- the daily continues. In 2018, Ivanka Trump closed her fashion business. “My focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I do here in Washington,” she said at the time.
Currently, Ivanka is self-employed and invests, although she does not disclose which companies. She is also a volunteer, recently helping victims of Hurricane Helene.
“NYT” writes that Ivanka takes care of three children, as well as her 98-year-old grandmother – Marie Zelníčková, the mother of Ivana Trump, who died in 2022. He practices jujitsu, meditates, plays the guitar, tennis and golf.
Her friends say that currently she cares less about being in the media spotlight and focuses more on her family life, especially her children. “Miami really feels like their home now. She's very happy with this lifestyle,” said Julie Brawn, who has known Ivanka Trump for two decades and lives near the couple.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/JASON SZENES