Four years ago, the would-be first daughter was seen by some to have the power to persuade moderate women voters and to rein in her own father's impulses. A lot is different now
AUGUST 27: Ivanka Trump, daughter of U.S. President Donald Trump, addresses attendees as Trump prepares to deliver his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination on the South Lawn of the White House August 27, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
On night four of the Republican National Convention, viewers knew her as “The Honorable Ivanka Trump.”
The title was a nod to her senior role in the White House (though official titular etiquette is somewhat unclear). The speaking gig was not. While the White House insisted she was appearing “on her own time” and only in her capacity as President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump introduced the president Thursday evening before he addressed the convention from the White House lawn, an overtly political use of federal property and potential violation of the Hatch Act.
For Ivanka Trump, who has spent the past few years shifting between her dual roles as first daughter and senior adviser, those were little more than details.
It was in many ways a fitting framework for her appearance, underscoring the extent to which she has unabashedly embraced the blending between the personal, political and governmental that has defined her father’s approach to politics almost as much as the divisiveness his brand thrives on.
Ivanka Trump’s perceived distance from that part of his brand was once her greatest asset. Her 2016 convention appearance, for example, was intended in large part to reach suburban women. The campaign believed they might see the president’s eldest daughter as a more centrist and professional counterpart to a firebrand candidate with a history of misogynistic behavior. And ahead of Thursday, as the penultimate act of a convention that has already been tailored in large part to such women, aides were hopeful she could reach the same audience and communicate a similar appeal.
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