Many Americans disagree with the Trump family's controversial combo of family and politics—notably the fact that President Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, are close advisers to POTUS himself.
In case you missed it, earlier this month, Ivanka Trump caused major controversy when she sat in for her father in the G20 Summit, which violated norms followed by world leaders at the conference—but sadly, when it comes to speaking out against her dad's offensive tweets, it seems like Ivanka doesn't really have as much power as she appears to have.
Last week, President Trump tweeted a confusing series of messages about banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. Military, and according to Politico, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner first learned of his announcement via Twitter—not from President Trump himself.
President Trump tweeted this just a month after Ivanka Trump had tweeted, “I am proud to support my LGBTQ friends and the LGBTQ Americans who have made immense contributions to our society and economy.”
Progressives hoped Ivanka would be the voice of reason in her father's tirade, but were disappointed when the limits of her powers in the White House were exposed following Trump's head-turning anit-trans tweets, according to Newsweek. Sarah McBride, national press secretary of the nonprofit Human Rights Coalition, spoke out about Ivanka's disappointing choice to stand down in the face of her father's decision, telling Politico, "Actions speak louder than words. Either Ivanka is ineffective in her advocacy within the building, or her voice doesn’t matter to the president as much as she hopes it does."
Although Ivanka and her husband declined to comment on the story, Politico reports that insiders close to the couple have revealed that they are aware of the disappointments, but want people to know that they don't hold as much power as people may think.
One friend, who was once close with Ivanka but who hasn't spoken with her since she moved to D.C., told Politico, "I know her well enough to know her relationship with her father, which is that she will never, ever, go against the grain."
This is why we can't have nice things! Presidential advisers are supposed to provide the president with opinions and options—not just stand on the sidelines as bystanders. Sadly, Ivanka is looking more like a bystander than a prominent voice in policy and big decisions made in the White House, and it's pretty disappointing, especially since she's claimed in the past that she's a supporter of women in leadership roles, as well as LGBTQ+ rights.
Here's to the next four years, y'all.