Politics

Ivanka Trump Just Got Hissed At After Defending Her Father's "Advocacy" For Women

April 25th 2017

Speaking in Berlin at a panel on female entrepreneurship, Ivanka Trump celebrated her father's advocacy on behalf of women, calling the president "a tremendous champion of supporting families and enabling them to thrive.” However, the audience wasn't having it — hissing and groaning over the first daughter's comments.

The panel, which also featured German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was a part of the Women20 Summit (W20 for short), an offshoot of the G20 summit held this year in Berlin, specifically aimed at "reducing the gender employment gap by 25 percent by 2025," according to their website.

When the moderator, journalist Miram Meckel, asked Trump to reconcile her claims with the reaction from the audience, she responded by criticizing the press. "I've certainly heard the criticism from the media and that's been perpetuated, but I know from personal experience, and I think the thousands of women who have worked with and for my father for decades when he was in the private sector are a testament to his belief and solid conviction in the potential of women and their ability to do the job as well as any man," Trump replied.

The hissing wasn't the only contentious moment during the panel.

Meckel came out swinging with her first question, asking Trump "You are first daughter — German audience not familiar — what is your role — to whom are you represented? Your father, the American people, or your business?"

"Certainly not the latter," Trump replied.

Angela MerkelPhilipp - flickr.com

But has Donald Trump really been an advocate for women? The record suggests otherwise.

While President Trump committed to ensuring paid family leave during his address to congress in March, his agenda and personal behavior has been broadly criticized as anti-woman.

According to Time, "Trump has nominated four women for Cabinet or Cabinet-level jobs. That's fewer than Presidents Barack Obama (seven) and Bill Clinton (six) had for their first Cabinets, and the same number as Republican George W. Bush chose out of the gate."

Donald TrumpGage Skidmore - flickr.com

Then there are his stances on various feminist issues. In the past he's called for punishing women who seek abortions, rolled back protections for female workers, attempted to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, and — of course — bragged about grabbing women's genitalia without their consent. He has also repeatedly promised to sue his accusers.

Women have united in protest against Trump.

In fact, it seems like the only thing Trump might have done for women is unite them against him. Feminism is enjoying an active resurgence in 2017, with more and more women participating in civic action and protest. And in the wake of Trump's election, more and more women are interested in running for office.

Women's MarchPeter Kaminski - flickr.com

But that's hardly what Ivanka means when she calls her dad an "advocate."

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