Through months of backlash, boycotts, protests and resistance on the Trump administration, the Trump family has encountered countless criticisms. Numerous people perceive Donald Trump as a power-hungry, misogynistic, racist, and, in what is likely the most controversial election, his family has endured harsh criticism as well. Specifically, his daughter and right-hand businesswoman, Ivanka Trump. The poised and ever-sophisticated First Daughter has been stereotyped as a privileged white woman with a pretty face and a perfect life. But do Americans really know their First Daughter? Is she really all that many Americans view her to be, or is the backlash inflicted on her merely shrapnel from the implosive statements made by her father?
Ivanka Trump grew up in a world where luxury and success surrounded her from all sides, and it was through that upbringing that she was able to learn the fundamentals of the Trump Organization. She was raised to value the luxuries she had, and to know that nothing in the business world is easily earned. These instilled values are definitely apparent in the purpose-driven life of Ivanka Trump.
To say that America’s First Daughter is hard working, dedicated, and driven would be an extreme understatement. Not only is she a wife and mother, but she was also vice president of development and acquisitions for the Trump organization for eleven years. She also developed her own successful accessory and apparel lines. Recently, she stepped down from managing those positions and has begun working as an unpaid advisor in the White House. The stereotypical beliefs about Ivanka Trump are juxtaposed by the fact that she will spend the next four years serving her country to no one’s cost but her own. Both her intense work ethic and tenacious attitude toward life are inspirational to any female American.
Through all of her business endeavors, it is clear that Ivanka has one apparent goal, and that is empowering the everyday working woman. In 2014, she launched a campaign called “Women Who Work” where she began releasing business attire that defies the anticipated, unappealing, and mundane black pantsuit. The purpose of the campaign was to create an aspirational, sexy, yet professional image of the working woman, and reach a normally ignored demographic. Her apparel company has been one of her many successes, and in spite of the recent controversy with Nordstrom, her company has had some of its best-selling weeks in the last two months. Her company has been an affluent catalyst in her ambitions to empower the American woman to not only be hard working but to embrace their nurturing, caregiving qualities that influence the minds of the future America.
First and foremost, Ivanka Trump is a family woman. She married her husband Jared Kushner in 2009 and has become the mother of three children (Arabella, Joseph and Theodore). Her social media presence is a great reflection of her lifestyle in that there are work-related posts, but even more so there are often special moments between her and her family shared. It is obvious that her role as wife and mother is her primary job description.
Throughout 2016, Ivanka accompanied her father along the campaign trail because of the respect he has for her opinion. Her relationship with her father is definitely an intensely productive one, as she is often the one to help smooth over his frequently misconstrued statements. Regardless of the fact that she might not always agree with him, she supports her father entirely and will be meticulously working alongside him for the next four years.
Prior to stepping down from the Trump Organization, Ivanka told Vogue magazine in 2014, “I wake up in the morning and get dressed, and before I leave I’m on the floor of the kitchen playing with my kids, then I’m in board meetings all day—half of the time walking through construction sites—and at the end of the day I’m meeting my husband for a dinner date.” Family is a value unlikely to waiver in the mind of Ivanka Trump. Her close-knit relationship with her father, siblings, and her own family are a testament to the true wholesomeness of her character.
Ivanka Trump embodies the aspiration of the everyday American woman in that she strives for success, values her family, and respects herself. She proves that any woman can be a hard-working employee, loving mother and wife, and a proud American with an enthusiasm for life. The perception that many Americans hold of Ivanka can be reimagined with an understanding of her self-sacrificial lifestyle. Even though she grew up in a world full of luxury and fame, Ivanka is no stranger to hard work and sacrifice. It is through her hard work and driven attitude that Ivanka has built her success, established herself as a role model, and broken the stereotypes of the average American working woman.