Politics

Ivanka Trump Responds to Why She Hasn't Publicly Defended Planned Parenthood

April 5th 2017

For the past several weeks, Ivanka Trump has been dodging criticism for her silence on Planned Parenthood. So far, she has been unwilling to publicly denounce her father's plans to defund the women's health care provider. As the president of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, told BuzzFeed, Ivanka Trump's silence was "deafening," and said that it was "time for Ivanka to...stand for women."  

Ivanka TrumpMichael Vadon - flickr.com

Ivanka Trump has had difficulty navigating other women's right issues, too. Yesterday, Twitter was quick to mock her "hypocritical" Equal Pay Day tweet. 

And now, with an official role in the White House as "adviser to the president," the question of her influence in promoting the rights of women becomes even more relevant. 

But in a revealing interview with Gayle King on "CBS This Morning," Ivanka Trump addressed her critics, urging them "not to conflate lack of public denouncement with silence."

Invoking the concerns of Ivanka Trump's detractors, King asked, "You also talk about the critics, and you have a couple that say, 'Why isn’t Ivanka speaking out? Where is she on Planned Parenthood? Where is she on gay rights? Where is she on the rights of women? Where is she on climate change?' And it’s, like, you’re being held personally accountable for not speaking up. What do you say to your critics?"

Donald TrumpGage Skidmore - flickr.com

Trump responded, "I think there are multiple ways to have your voice heard. 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."

Still, critics would be hard pressed to see how this explanation of her influence has translated to actual influence, as the Trump administration continues to takes measures to curtail the rights of women. Just last week, as Ivanka Trump's new role in her father's administration became official, President Trump rolled back Obama-era protections of women in the workplace, including wage transparency and a ban on forced arbitration in sexual harassment cases. 

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