Ivanka Trump arrived in Berlin on Tuesday morning to discuss women’s entrepreneurship, alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
But on her first trip abroad as an official representative of the United States, the first daughter was put on the spot about her father’s attitudes toward women, was booed and hissed at by the majority-women audience at the conference when she lauded her father for supporting paid-leave policies.
“I’m very proud of my father’s advocacy,” she said,calling him “a tremendous champion of supporting families and enabling them to thrive.”Meckel, the moderator, pushed her to address the vocal disapproval from the audience.
“You hear the reaction from the audience,” she said. “I need to address one more point — some attitudes toward women your father has displayed might leave one questioning whether he’s such an empowerer for women.”
In response,Ivanka said
I’ve certainly heard the criticism from the media, that’s been perpetuated,” she said, drawing laughs from the audience.
“As a daughter, I can speak on a very personal level,” Ivanka Trump said. “I grew up in a house where there was no barrier to what I could accomplish beyond my own perseverance and tenacity. That’s not an easy thing to do; he provided that for us.” She said that her father treated her exactly the same way he treated her two brothers, who now run the family business.
“There was no difference,” she said.Politics is politics, as I’m learning,”“My father is a champion for all Americans — women, of course…. I think the fact that he’s embraced my interest in taking on this role shows that he aligns with the interests I most deeply care about and advocate for. Otherwise it wouldn’t make for a very good family dynamic.”
She insisted that the president has been a “champion of women” throughout his career.