Politics

Here Are 3 Ways Ivanka Trump Is Already Making People Nervous

December 5th 2016

Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of President-elect Donald Trump, met with former Vice President Al Gore on Monday to discuss global warming, various news outlets reported.  

This meeting has people questioning what exactly the future first daughter's role is (or isn't) supposed to be in a Trump administration.

In a November "60 Minutes" interview, President-elect Trump gave a general overview of his policies, with Ivanka claiming no formal role in Trump's administration, according to The New York Times:

"Ms. Trump said on '60 Minutes' last month that when her father becomes president, she will just be a 'daughter.' She has said she will use her 'heightened visibility' to champion working women."

But here are three reasons why Ivanka Trump is already making people nervous she'll be much more than a spokeswoman.

She spoke to Nancy Pelosi about "women's issues" on behalf of her father

As The New York Times reported, when minority leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, called Donald Trump for a formal discussion on domestic policy and other issues, Trump handed the phone to Ivanka, leaving her to communicate with the congresswoman on his behalf.

She used the "60 Minutes" interview to promote her jewelry line.

The aforementioned "60 Minutes" interview, in which Ivanka claimed she would be "just a daughter" quickly drew ire when it was revealed she was apparently using the television appearance to sell a bracelet from her jewelry line.

This became an example of how Ivanka Trump could present a "conflict of interests" as a spokesperson for her father's presidency while trying to profit from her own business.

She accompanied her father to a meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister

In November, less than a week after Ivanka's bracelet-hawking made the news, The New York Times revealed another potential conflict of interest situation when they reported Ivanka sat in on a meeting between her father and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan.

How close can Ivanka get to the administration?

There are anti-nepotism laws in place that would outright prevent Trump from giving his children a position in the federal government, The Washington Post reports, but the way Ivanka Trump has walked that line — before her father has even taken office — is what has people concerned.

Latest reports say Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, are planning to move to Washington D.C., according to CNN, putting her even closer (literally) to The White House.

While there's nothing unusual about a first daughter taking an interest in her country, the influence Ivanka seems to have over her father is unlike any previous dynamic. Writer Michael D'Antonio, who wrote a biography on Trump, called Ivanka "the quiet power behind the Trump throne."

And that's a big problem, especially considering Ivanka isn't supposed to be focused on her father's presidency, but on her father's business.

As Philip Bump of The Washington Post writes,

"The problem, of course, is that Ivanka Trump is supposed to be running the family business, acting as an outside control ensuring that there's at least something of a firewall between the actions of the president-elect and the effects on his pocketbook."

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