If Ivanka Trump were a Democrat’s kid, the media would worship her

The nation’s leading journalists, talking heads, and television analysts collectively threw a full-blown media hissy fit after first daughter Ivanka Trump announced that she will be taking on a formal role, assistant to the president, in her father’s White House. Elite Daily smugly called Ivanka a “total hypocrite.”  The Washington Post described the situation as an “ethic(al) quagmire.” Cosmopolitan said Ivanka’s gig is “an insult to working women.”

A first daughter has never taken on such an active role in the White House. If Ivanka were the daughter of a Democrat politician, she would be called a trail blazer. If Hillary Clinton were in the White House, and Chelsea Clinton took an official position as assistant to the president, left-leaning pundits would likely point to her as a shining example of a strong women for young girls.

{mosads}But because it’s Ivanka, the daughter of the most hated Republican in U.S. politics, she’s a villain guilty of nepotism; she’s an insult to working women; she only got her position because of her privilege and her last name.

Ivanka has been giving her father advice throughout her entire life, particularly as an adult; it’s what family does. Giving her a formal, unpaid position holds her accountable to the same ethical standards as every federal worker.

But the bigger point is that Ivanka is highly qualified to be assistant to the president. She has her father’s trust and ear, but has also made it clear that she lets him know when she disagrees with him. Beyond that, she has a business record that will speaks for itself. She served as the executive vice president of the massive Trump Organization for years and built her own fashion empire — which netted almost $30 million in sales last year — as a businesswoman in her own right, keeping her own name and reputation.

Poll: Ivanka Trump the best-liked White House staffer https://t.co/HilJGrOmwT pic.twitter.com/9ciMBx1Sar

— The Hill (@thehill) April 13, 2017

Ivanka then used her massive platform to be an advocate for women and workplace equality, issues that she is passionate about. Thanks to Ivanka, maternity leave was discussed for the first time, ever, at the Republican National Convention. She made the issue part of the conversation among conservative leaders.  

Yet despite her accomplishments, the left — including those who call themselves “feminists” — are waging war on Ivanka. Why? Because she is the daughter of Donald Trump, the daughter of a Republican.

Cosmopolitian wrote, “Ivanka will continue to pretend she’s a model for working women, applauding herself for having a ‘seat at the table’ with foreign dignitaries, as she did in this Instagram photo. Just remember she’s only sitting in that seat because her daddy let her.”

That’s rich, coming from a women’s publication that prides itself on being a feminist outlet. Hypocritical feminists are now judging a women’s rights advocate through the prism of a man in her life: her father.

Feminism hypocrisy and scrutiny from the left wouldn’t be so irritating if the press were equally as tough on the children of Democratic leaders. But they aren’t. In the eyes of the nation’s most prominent “hard-hitting” journalists, Chelsea Clinton can do no wrong.

During the 2016 presidential campaign season, the press continuously questioned and criticized Ivanka’s track record on women’s issues, while turning a blind eye to Chelsea’s questionable activities.

Take what happened in early November, when WikiLeaks released emails between a top Clinton aide and John Podesta. The emails alleged that Chelsea illegally used Clinton Global Initiative Foundation funds to pay for her wedding and pay herself for campaigning — all while avoiding taxes. Aside from Fox News, the press largely glossed over the story. There was no real, critical, and substantive effort to investigate the serious claims. Apparently, the media was still too busy covering Trump’s infamous 2005 “pussy tape,” which had leaked back in August.

Not only does the press shield Chelsea from scrutiny when she deserves it — some outlets actively idolize her. To the delight of fawning Democrats, Variety recently announced that it would be awarding its prestigious Impact Award to Chelsea.

Chelsea Clinton fuels speculation of political run: https://t.co/Wn8roHYMWX pic.twitter.com/EeYOlMQx71

— The Hill (@thehill) March 15, 2017

What, exactly, has 37-year-old Chelsea done to deserve this award? The press didn’t bother to ask. Upon first glance, it seems that her most notable achievements include: Being lauded as the president’s “most formidable Twitter foe, being born to a prominent family of Democratic politicians, landing a $600,000 NBC contract, and marrying a millionaire.

The glaring difference between how the press treats Ivanka and Chelsea was on full display on CBS This Morning last week. The show did one-on-one interviews with both women. The 10-minute interview with Chelsea was practically an advertisement for her new book for teens, “It’s Your World.” After the umpteenth fluff question about what inspired her to write the book, one host playfully asked Chelsea if she plans to run for president someday. “Politics is in your DNA,” the hosts laughed.

The Ivanka interview went much differently. Gayle King grilled her for nearly the entire interview about her role in the White House as well as father’s policy agenda.  

Should the press be asking Ivanka tough questions? Absolutely. But it’s hard to take any line of questioning seriously when the same treatment isn’t given to powerful Democrats or their family members.

Even when Chelsea was on the campaign trail acting as her mother’s surrogate (and grossly misrepresenting the policies of Clinton’s competitors in the process), the national media eschewed hard questions and largely treated her as if she were still a kid. Jake Tapper of CNN even admitted it on Twitter, writing in October that there is “no reason to treat one adult child of a nominee with kid gloves while others get tough questions.”

@mkhammer @HefferonJoe but there’s no reason to treat one adult child of a nominee with kid gloves while others get tough questions.

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 5, 2016

This isn’t new, Chelsea has been allowed to avoid accounting for her public profile for years. While campaigning for her mother in 2008, Chelsea even told a nine-year-old “kid reporter” for Scholastic News, after he deigned to ask a question, “I’m sorry, I don’t talk to the press and that applies to you, unfortunately. Even though I think you’re cute.”

I’m sorry, what?

In Ivanka, today’s first daughter is everything that liberals claim to support: a strong, independent woman who carved her own path in business despite being surrounded by strong men. She is smart, beautiful, and successful. If she were the daughter of a Democrat, not only would she would be seen as a pioneer for taking on an important role in the White House, but she would be actively celebrated as such.