Ivanka Trump recently stirred controversy when she got her own office in the West Wing and later joined the Trump administration as an official government employee. The administration claimed she would serve as an advisor to President Trump and give him advice on certain issues, such as women’s rights.
Now, people are hoping that Ivanka will influence her father and his policies, The Washington Post reports.
In an interview on Wednesday with Gayle King on CBS News, Ivanka responded to critics who think she hasn’t spoken out enough on her criticism of Trump’s policies. Ivanka said that she does not like to publicly denigrate Trump and his policies.
“I would say not to conflate lack of public denouncement with silence,” Ivanka Trump told CBS This Morning. “I think there are multiple ways to have your voice heard.” She added, “In some cases, it’s through protest and it’s through going on the nightly news and talking about or denouncing every issue on which you disagree with. Other times it is quietly and directly and candidly. So where I disagree with my father, he knows it. And I express myself with total candor. Where I agree, I fully lean in and support the agenda and—and hope—that I can be an asset to him and—and make a positive impact.”
Ivanka also argued that going public with her disagreements isn’t always the best way to go. “We’re in a very unique time where noise equals, in a lot of people’s perception, advocacy,” Ivanka said. “And I fundamentally disagree with that. I do think there’s a time for public denouncement…I also think there’s a time for discussion.”
While Ivanka did show us during her father’s campaign that she didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye with Trump on certain issues, it is understandable that Ivanka doesn’t want to publicly speak out about what she thinks about Trump’s policies. After all, like Ivanka said in her interview, this is her father’s administration, and it’s not necessarily about her “promoting her viewpoints.”
Perhaps, as the Post reports, if we should ever see Trump go more moderate on certain issues that Ivanka is passionate about, it might show that Ivanka had a say in the matter and influenced Trump. But we’ll see.