Envy parading around falsely as justified disgust is the essence of liberals these days. It is not a good look.
Ivanka is very pretty and very articulate. I bet you Kim Jong Un was tickled pink at the very sight of her as would be just about any leader on the planet, and, yes, it turns out that is a form of valuable currency that is being wielded on our collective behalf. And, uh oh what if they actually get something done here? I'm sure you'll contort logic in an endeavor to retain your world view, but you'll be wrong then just like you're wrong now.
10
Funny funny article. But rather than agree with you as 99% of the posters here will, I ask the question related to your observations
"With Daddy she swanned toward the Hermit Kingdom, testing the boundaries of Take Our Daughters to Work Day. I briefly wondered what value she was adding, because I foolishly prioritized the interests of America above the adventures of Ivanka."
What value does this piece serve towards the discourse? Of course I will fight to the death for your ability to spew this stuff. But whether you like it or not, this guy was elected fair and square (and please posters do not comment on Russian interference, that trope is past its sell by date), and it looks like he may be again.
You have to come up with substantive reasons why the guy should not be re-elected (I know those replying will take this bait) .
PS - the article was very funny
72
@my aim is true. I am sad to inform you that all I can provide with is the silence of crickets. Do you hear them?
56
@My Aim Is True
Perhaps you did not read the article. It is not about the reelection of Trump, however inevitable and horrifying that may be. It's about his unqualified daughter, who was not able to pass standard security clearances inserting herself into international diplomacy, as groundwork for her succeeding him.
346
If Chelsea Clinton had been Ivanka's current age when Bill Clinton was our president, and Bill took Chelsea around with him to world events, (1) no one would have cared and (2) people would have described this as a wonderful father/daughter relationship.
But, Donald Trump is very wealthy. And Ivanka is very good looking.
Sorry but there's a double standard here. The standard we get in the Trump presidency is that EVERYTHING he does must be criticized all day, every day. This is called ENVY. Envy about the Trump's wealth that was earned by the Trump family over many years.
I voted for Hillary. And I side strongly with Democrats on abortion, gun control and a few other topics. But, with each passing day of listening to Socialists like Sanders, Warren and AOC, I move closer and closer to becoming a Trump supporter for the 2020 election.
76
@ABC123
problem: your If is too much of an if; you are comparing Ivanka's presence to something that did not happen. No double standard can be alleged here.
187
@ABC123 "I move closer and closer to becoming a Trump supporter for the 2020 election." So, what will be the final enticement to get you to vote for Trump? Another rape allegation? Another child dying in our custody? More Putin love? More denigration of our intelligence agencies? More federal debt? More lies? More racism? More misogyny?More stonewalling the Mueller report? More refusals to show his tax returns? More cuts to environmental regulations? More cuts to Medicare & Medicaid. More wealth for the wealthy? More military spending?
It would appear you already have an embarrassment of riches from which to choose.
573
How do you feel about standing room only cages and baby deaths?
273
Small-minded, trivial hit piece.
12
Please remove Ivanka's picture from the top of the page. One day was bad enough, but two days?!
40
Catty article Mr. Bruni
6
Nailed it!
76
And her ignorance and arrogance is on global display. Oh yes, to be Ivanka - and the fact that she has no idea how ignorant she really is, is truly tragic.
100
In case Ivanka gets bored with being America's foremost world diplomat without portfolio, maybe she would like to try doing some brain surgery.
She would look pretty good in scrubs, and she could start a whole new fashion line of high end scrubs, face masks, caps, and booties.
71
Clearly if Ivanka were a man Mr. Bruni would not be so mean.
10
Midnight is coming for Cinderella.
72
Poor Ivanka. Can you imagine this president as your father?
27
“...platinum encrusted genes,” hahaha. Made me laugh. Made me think of some cheap electro-plated, ersatz Tiffany knock-off.
34
2016, #photobombsquirrel
2019 #UnwantedIvanka
Curious rodent vs. attention kleptomaniac.
10
Sometimes the sanest reaction to an insane situation is Insanity.
Please THINK...We have an “Elected President” who is also
a bonafide Sociopathic Personality Disorder. LOOK AT the BOOK: THE DANGEROUS CASE OF DONALD TRUMP by
27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts who Assess the
President. Trump is beyond Treatment.....We, the People,
are in Need of It!
33
Ivanka is a pretty woman , and so is Melania it gets Trump votes and favor . Especially from Men . He knows it and uses it.
21
Surely, Ivanka was also beside MacArthur as he left the Philippines, whispering to him, “tell them you’ll be back.”
28
I've seen this before. Basically, Trump is senile. His children (and Jared) are covering for him. That is why at least one of them is always close at hand.
45
All in the Family
Boy, the way Glen Miller played.
Songs that made the Hit Parade.
Guys like us, we had it made.
Those were the days
Didn't need no welfare state.
Everybody pulled his weight
Gee, our old LaSalle ran great.
Those were the days
And you knew where you were then
Girls were girls and men were men.
Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again.
People seemed to be content.
Fifty dollars paid the rent.
Freaks were in a circus tent.
Those were the days
Take a little Sunday spin,
Go to watch the Dodgers win.
Have yourself a dandy day
That cost you under a fin.
Hair was short and skirts were long.
Kate Smith really sold a song.
I don't know just what went wrong
Those Were the Days
15
When your ability to interact is reduced to looking like a fluttering pink butterfly that others try to ignore out of collective embarrassment, that's a hint Ivanka.
71
I truly cannot understand that his base hates elites.
24
Who voted for her?
40
I hope we can eventually create a society that is not about constant volleying of vitriol and personal attacks. Doesn't the New York Times have anything better to do than to set up easy targets for attack? It just seems wrong and cheap.
8
Please, Ivanka stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night....
16
Even if Trump loses the election, even if he resigns or is impeached, my nightmare is that Trump and his insufferable family of grifters will never be out of our lives—that we will never, ever be rid of them.
75
Is it just me, or do those manufactured Teeth look positively frightening? Like they could cut flesh and bone.
Seriously.
39
Oh America, once home of the Brave; now home of the Brand. And what a vacuous and lethally dangerous brand the Trump brand is.
49
"The clothes, the kids, the teeth, the entitlement."
BRILLIANT!
33
I remember what Ivanka was wearing when Nikki Halley resigned from the UN. Ivanka was in the office too during the photo opp with the press as Nikki talked with president Trump. Ivanka was wearing a princess/Queen outfit with a royal collar and pearls and her hair up, not office wear even for the Oval Office, and she was ready for a tiara...dropping a hint that she could be the next UN Ambassador.
27
STOP giving her any attention.
18
I don't like her, I don't think she's very intelligent, but save your criticism for things that matter. Fault her on her ineptitude, but not on what she looks like. Fault her Father on the fact that she is there with no real reason to be there.
125
Clearly Ivanka is being groomed (response testing currently underway) for VP run in 2020, presidential run in 2024.
16
Brilliant column.
After JFK made RFK his attorney general, Congress strengthened the laws that discourage nepotism with respect to Federal positions. Trump found a loophole and snuck Jared and Ivanka through. This loophole must be plugged. Jared and Ivanka have no qualifications to be in the White House. They are only using the position to insulate Daddy from inconvenient truths and to line their pockets for the day when they have to leave.
52
Queenie Ivanka needs to come up with a classic one-liner -- you know, something for the history books that eloquently captures how she feels about all the little people.
Something like: "Let them eat fake."
47
Ivanka is a vapid runway model that Trump wants to show off. She's the only offspring he's truly proud of, and it's all about the looks (rumored to be surgically enhanced). Air-headedness is the bonus that proves breeding (and daddy's millions) alone engender entitlement.
Ivanka (and Jared) are among the few survivors in the snake pit that presumes to be our senior administration. I think only Kellyanne Conway matches her staying power, but KAC owes her position to Mercer money and slippery lies on Trump's behalf. Ivanka seems to owe hers to a reverse generational oedipus complex.
It's all so reminiscent of an inbred royal family with accidental historical importance. The more you know, the more it disgusts. The French revolution, while grossly overdone, cleared out much undeserving underbrush. We have to rely on slow moving Democratic House hearings, a slower moving, semi-rigged judicial system, and periodic elections. We're still gonna have elections, I guess. Unless the tanks are meant to remain permanently in DC.
40
Kim Kardashian might actually be more intelligent and talented than Ivanka Trump. And that's saying something.
Dear Republicans,
What have you done?
God help us all.
49
This was very witty and funny, and I agree with a lot of it. But just to be contrary I'll point out that the foreign policy establishment has been an abysmal failure the past century or two. I don't buy Ivanka or Jared as skilled peacemakers, of course, but I also don't buy that American foreign policy orthodoxy achieves peace either. I take it you're alleging that the right credentials from the right place earns one a seat at those tables. Gah, what a miserable failure that idea has been for a long, long time.
5
The Trumps are simply the extreme culmination of a society which has valued imagery, fakery, and B (C....maybe D) - grade talent since a Hollywood wanna be and has been was elected President. It's been all downhill since then.
24
Trump, his family, and in fact virtually his entire administration have completely destroyed the idea of meritocratic ascension to positions of power in American politics.
29
I saw a politicial cartoon on Facebook earlier today. It had Jesus in the company of a few followers. As he was starting to preach, he interrupted himself, asking, "(Ivanka's) standing behind me, isn't she?"
27
Can you move this article so I don't have to look at this woman every time I go to the Times' site?
Many thanks and happy 4th!
29
As the nobody with no qualifications Ivanka attempted to break into the circle as the head of IMF, May, Macron and Trudeau were speaking, I kept hoping that at some point Trump would notice that none of them were speaking to her or looking at her and were giving her the signal that she wasn't wanted. I also hoped that at some point the woman who is head of the IMF would punch Trump in the nose but instead at one point she shot her a killer look that should have turned Trump to stone.
Unfortunately the Trump's have no class, no shame, no dignity and certain no sense of how much people with brains loathe everything about them.
I'm also sick of see article stating she is beautiful -- LOL -- not on her best day. She is quite ordinary looking and well on her way to being as homely as her mother who has not aged well.
37
Money can’t buy class.
44
Do you not understand that the majority of Americans are turning away from all politics because the Dems and non-Trumpers take the Trump bait EVERY time. Ignore their nonsense. Sure, it gives cable tv pundits and NY Times columnists stuff to talk about, and you all want to keep your jobs. But, ultimately, most of us want to stop hearing about Trump 24/7. His parade? 24/7 chiding him before, during and after.
Enough already. If you’ve got nothing else to talk or write about, get another job where your contribution to society would benefit it, not just your bank accounts. Don’t be surprised when Americans reject a too-far-left Dem party and stay home in 2020.
4
This mean spirited ridicule says a lot more about Frank Bruni than it does about Ivanka or Donald Trump. Such easy targets. It brought back horrible childhood memories. I wish I'd never opened it.
6
I can’t go through all these comments, but it seems this is Ivanka’s trail balloon for a VP slot next year. Seriously. If Trump is nervous about NY or the SD coming down on him, (and he rage tweeted just a few days ago) who better to set him free but his favorite kid? And he’d have no issue with throwing Pence out.
9
My guess is that Ivanka was there because Melania stayed home. There is no stage large enough for Trump and family members.
2
Please don't tell me Dad paid a fixer a million bucks to get her into Wharton.
22
Remember Roger Clinton? Remember Billy Carter?
They were more qualified than Ivanka Trump. And they stayed out of presidential affairs.
23
Beware! she could conceivably shown up on your dollar bill (goodbye Tubman), and that would mean that she'd be around for a very very long time.
6
@cachemire
Perhaps Mr. Mnuchin can put Mr. Trump's face on the penny. (One cent is probably higher than Mr. Trump's actual net worth.)
And then the next Secretary of the Treasury can remove the penny from circulation. And melt them all down for the copper.
9
We still don't have enough women in the military, so I'm planning to take it in stride tomorrow when Trump makes Ivanka a General in the Army.
14
I would hope that she would not have attended if she did not think that she was contributing to the diplomatic effort. I am not so sure of that about her father. With him it is the show that is important not the results.
3
@Denis How can you contribute when you are vapid?
4
I find this more unsettling than funny, which of course it is supposed to be, I feel like we shouldn't let the destructive and cruel forces of twitter invade these spaces. Small quips, such as the Borowitz report, are necessary comic relief. This, however, feels like it goes on a little too long.
2
It takes a while to cover all of the family's sins.
8
Our own Trust Fund Barbie - comes with all of Daddy's stuff!
-always appearance over substance
-total lack of introspection and self reflection
-apparently as yet unplumbed depths of ignorance that continues
to astonish us all.
Anyone remember when she was going to be the moderating influence and he was going to "pivot?"
36
As we all waste time reading and writing about the delightful tRumps, dashing to the store to buy pretzels in CO2 spewing gas-powered cars, entertaining ourselves with trips abroad in polluting jets, consuming foods and goods from China on fuel-guzzling freighters because they are cheaper, addicting ourselves to countless unrecyclable gadgets made from esoteric materials brutally extracted from third world countries, stressing ourselves with countless irrelevancies that don't matter, and obliterating our minds with drugs and alcohol, Climate Change inexorably unfolds.
11
Spot on, Frank.
I believe we are at a seminal point in the Trump debauchery. The debasement of all that our democracy stands for is taking an accelerated life of it’s own. We are quickly, I believe, reaching a point of no turning back. We must take to the streets and retake the conversational agenda, our rule of law, and our government for the people and by the people. Dilitant demi-Dictators be dammed: Our liberties are gravely at risk.
13
Should have also used shot from Mary Tyler Moore Show where she throws her hat in the air and twirls around. And song says “who can turn the world on with her smile?”she is such a great example of working hard, sacrificing and getting it all!
5
"They have given him humiliating headlines to go along with the mortifying ones that he already had in abundance. Talk about a trade imbalance."
I heard the drum roll right before the last sentence. Hilarious....except that it isn't. This is so weird and humiliating for sane Americans, we don't know whether to laugh or cry.
11
Ivanka claims that family separations "were" the low point in her dad's presidency. It's at the very least, stunningly tone deaf that she's floating around adversarial nations in five thousand dollar designer gowns while family separations ramp up and innocent immigrants are being tortured.
26
I'm sure somebody in these 2,180+ comments has already said it, but ... Born on Third, Thinks She Hit a Triple.
What a joke the people running our country have become.
32
An overused invalid criticism. The point is that SOMEONE got on base, to continue the baseball analogy. And to go further, someone or a bunch of someones made the team, having come up from the minors. And like the major leagues it may well have been due as much to luck as talent.
It's like the trump thing has been a growing case of leprosy. Pieces of our dignity and of our valor our sacrifices for world peace and harmony are being devoured by and turned rancid by the presence of this group of half humans.
Enough!
21
... they have confused the stars in the firmament with the star-shaped footprints of a duck in the mud...
6
During the Clinton administration, I remember Republicans of all stripes outraged that Hillary was taking the lead on healthcare policy. They repeated over and over that she hadn't been elected, thus had no business being involved in anything involving government. But Jared and Ivanka? All's good in the right wing West Wing.
63
@Mattfr. Many people criticize Clinton for her attempt to reform heath care. I have never been a Clinton fan as any collection of my comments would show. However Mrs. Clinton was first lady and this was her project, just highway beautification was for Lady Bird, decorating the White House was for Mrs. Kennedy and improving children's nutrition and fitness for Mrs. Obama. First Ladies are expected to have projects. First children and in laws, not so much, especially when their project seems to be keeping themselves solvent.
29
Nailed it.
18
Ladies and Gentleman!!!!!! Our first female president of the United States of America, Ivanka Trump 2024!!!
You can bet I'll vote for her!
5
@RS:
Why? What has she done to make her prepared to be president?
Don't complain when you cannot breathe the air, drink the water, come down with cancer due to our bad environment. And these are just small examples of what is going on.
16
Thank you, Frank Bruni. You nailed it perfectly and I enjoyed the read.
30
-Bankrupt 6 times
-Lost more $$ than any other American over xx years
-Defrauded NY State on real estate taxes
-Defrauded USA on taxes
-Adulterer, rapist; 17 women? 22? How many sexual harassment cases waiting to be prosecuted. Porn star and Playboy payoffs
-Around 11,000 fact checked public lies
-White supremacist, xenophobe, racist, sexist
-Tax deform favoring aged white rich--his true constituency
-Attempts to take away health care from poor and needy
-Emoluments clause abuses
-Embrace of autocrats, demeaning allies, NATO
-Russia, Russia, Russia--obstruction and conspiracy
-Environmental terrorist, Paris Accord
-Mindless tariffs and trade wars damaging economy
-Record staff turnover (including those in jail), worst cabinet, advisers and president in recent memory, maybe ever
-Hugely disfunctional administration
-Unconscionable nepotism
-Polarization of USA
-Sabotaging America's standing abroad
-Excessive narcissism and learning disorders
-So poorly informed he doesn't know how dumb he is
...tip of the iceberg...
This is what Ivanka and Jared embrace. How she grew up. Why would you expect anything different from her. America the beautiful....
87
I was acquainted with a few millionaires by inheritance, all extremely entitled personalities. A couple of them were considerate enough to overdose and remove themselves from society. I guess being wealthy was too much of a burden to carry.
34
Frank - Thank you Thank you and Thank you again. For giving us a really good laugh to celebrate the 4th. It gives me hope for America to know that you and others are brave enough to write this - You nailed it!! Spawn and spawn-in-law made me laugh out loud. Most importantly what you nailed was what Javanka typifies "altitude is achievement" and "breaching a sanctum is as valid as earning a place there" - the blurring of reality TV and real life. Please keep writing - we need to be able to laugh about this more than ever.
42
Making the United States of America part the Trump family business syndicate is the direct result of the 2016 Republican election corruption. The GOP has no shame. nor respect for the American people, Take back our country - throw Trump and his brood out of our government. Get out the vote across the nation against these little dictators and their Republican lackeys. No patriotic citizen can abide any further Trump family abuse.
46
The vivid message Ms. Trump delivers is that I am entitled with access to power and money to obtain what I want. Therefore, you who are probably brighter and more useful to the country are suppressed because you are not me.
32
Since I live and work in the US, when I changed job, my first lesson was about ‘Conflict of Interests’ in on-boarding. To me it was part of American culture snd always praised it.
Anybody could ever imagine, one day America’s president didn’t know anything about the meaning of Conflict of Interests!?
When I see in news how Trump family cause other nations joke about America, I feel embarrassed and sorry!
I wonder Americans vote Trump as president or Trump family!?
21
If Ivanka is so concerned about women and children, why isnt she speaking out on the children, mothers and refugees at the border and in detention with all her “ideas” instead of trying to be a fashion plate at the G20. Its her choice, she could be effective, but chooses the photo op path.
64
@Mother yes, and with the 1st Lady, with her "Be Best" campaign...whatever happened to that? Things would change quickly (and I'm no fan of this administration) She could wear her jacket with "I really don't care". Nothing is beyond these people
12
My thoughts exactly.
3
@Mother
Excellent question!
The answer is, of course, that she is not concerned at all but merely displaying the advocate pose. Team trump thinks this will offset his many violations of decency toward women and children. She would have to contradict daddy to actually walk the talk and we can't have that.
If she cared about women, she would have been selling comfortable shoes from her now defunct fashion line and not torture rack stilettos. And how many nanny's does it take to raise her kids while she's touring the halls of power? If she cared about kids she'd be raising her own and leaving us alone.
10
I never thought I'd say this, but the Trumps are worse than the Kardashians.
75
That’s a tough league, too.
10
That’s how the kardashians learned. Maybe they could run against trump.
1
If I was a curator at a contemporary art gallery, I would hang this as a show. Its modern art!!
13
One comment here cautions against “ironic humor,” lest we not take seriously the deep trouble we’re in. I see the point, but can’t help wondering if humor’s not just what we need. Twitter awash in images of Ivanka flirting through history—like the one in this piece showing her, helmeted, between 2 also helmeted America GIs on a battlefield—seems like potent critique to me, maybe even the beginnings of a corrective. It’s so preposterous, right? Old fashioned word—preposterous. Arguably kind of snooty, perhaps. But as preposterous = ridiculous = absurd, it seems to me that to have a little fun with Ivanka, at ivanka’s expense, is to poke fun at this administration with a particularly sharp stick; for it definitely highlights our country’s preposterously, ridiculously, and absurdly incompetent leadership.
19
@David
You are completely correct and justified in pointing out to Americans that Trump and his greedy family are not going to go away without a serious struggle. We need far stronger Democratic leadership and an equally strong voter backlash. We may need people in the streets to protest if Pelosi and Schumer can't get their act together, but we cannot take this Trumpian nightmare lightly. It is no joke! Adolph had the same level of approval in the early Thirties as Trump does now and the majority at that time thought it was merely a passing phase..wrong!!
6
Hugely entertaining and disturbingly accurate.
37
Ivanka Trump is a stylish advertisement for our need of a larger inheritance tax.
44
See? Republicans CAN have a sense of humor!
7
@C. Pierson -- Trouble is, Republican-style humor is always, always a bad joke.
5
For Ivanks, the world's political stages and power summits are just another fashion runway/shoot and "networking" opportunity.
30
altitude or attitude - whatever.
7
It's bad enough I am embarrassed of Trump on the world stage, now i have to cringe when his vapid kids accompany him (on my dime) to world events?
47
You're right but so what if Ivanka inserts herself everywhere ?
As long as she does not any damage ... there are 200 worse things that Trump has done so far. I can't be bothered and worried about Ivanka. But if you can ... still ... why can't you ferocious tiger forgive and forget this little gazelle ? Find an opponent of your size, acumen, strength etc
1
This particular helpless gazelle is mincing about at the highest level of our government.
16
I prefer Ivanka Trump any day over Chelsea Clinton. Thank you,
9
@Southern Boy - No comparison, Chelsea Clinton isn't inserting herself into government affairs and sucking up our tax dollars.
Time to get a clue.
63
Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Style over substance. Well you know about things/ people going out of style.
3
I can certainly see your point.
After all, what has Chelsea Clinton ever done except earn her BA (summa) from Stanford, a MA and DPhil from Oxford, and a MPH from Columbia, and then go on to do actual, meaningful work for somebody who wasn’t daddy?
Why, the woman’s never even bankrupted a company!
26
Yep, she has the ultimate internship thanks to Daddy. And the resemblance between Donnie Trump Jr. and Eddie Munster is so uncanny.
25
One of the truly amazing things about Republicans is that they can watch all this happen without any qualms whatsoever about how weak and pathetic Donald and Kids make America look in front of the world. For a group of people obsessed with strength, it's pretty impressive to see them just not care that he's made America into a joke.
38
All publicity is valued. She must be brimming with self pride to be the center of so much attention, your article included. It’s disgraceful.
9
Ms. Obama never inserted herself into every world situation as if she had the resume to do so. She probably gave her opinion privately. Ivanka has nothing but the daughter of the president. What qualifies he is her loyalty to the president.
26
Frank, Fireworks! Every word beautifully crafted and every paragraph sparkles and crackles.
Qualifications for a Presidential advisor: A cypher for a daughter and a xxx light-in-the loafers son-in-law.
17
So thoroughly lacking in self-awareness. So completely devoid of shame. So much the apple not falling a millimeter from the tree.
41
So right.
12
She's such a lightweight. It's embarassing.
27
It's the voters. To paraphrase P.T. Barnum out of context: No one ever lost an election by underestimating the intelligence of the American voters. Because there's "a sucker born every minute" we are slow-walking toward disaster.
14
Reminds me every day of Queen Cersei. Game of thrones had nothing on this miserable bunch.
14
Great piece, Frank Bruni! Thank you!
16
Did she sit in Kim Jeong Un's chair, too?
18
"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" Ivanka's photo-ops certainly trigger this question from another very famous fairytale Snow White.
11
The trump/Kushner clan: So many grifters, so little print space.
35
best bruni writing in a while. nailed it. bravo.
13
Call her a fake diplomat and they'll howl, "Fake news!"
14
Ouch, you nailed it!
It's this that worries me both: "And the other side is busy conducting purity tests on itself." Purity tests keep reminding me of Catch-22, where the cowed troops couldn't get served in the mess hall until they had signed endless loyalty oaths.
We all need a helping of common sense along with our compassion and diversity. Let's keep our sites aimed on the big picture--a functional, fair democracy. Big picture in 2020, then details to follow, not the other way 'round!
14
I doubt that The Donald is at all embarrassed by Jarvanka. The man who has no clue that he is a world wide joke, is also clueless that the world is laughing at the crown princess and her mate.
These people are the very definition of dilettantes.
Think of the hilarity in the Kremlin as they watch our nation being defiled and embarrassed each and every day by these cretin.
37
Wow! As spot-on and vicious as MoDo's takedowns of the Clintons.
5
We elected a con-man real estate guy as President who likes to have his sweat-shop mogul daughter and her slum-lord husband with him to represent our United States of America, the family Von Crime. There is nothing pretty about these people.
60
@G.E. Morris
Or our country at this particular moment.
6
God bless you, Mr. Bruni!
16
I look forward to this entire grifter family sentenced to a very long-term summer vacation on Riker's Island.
31
Who needs a twitter account when Frank Bruni's will do!
7
Why doesn't she spend a few days at migrants camps as a display of her compassion? Oh wait, she's a Trump.
31
BRUNI for the captcha!
7
Don't be fooled.
Mike Pence is out of the picture.
Ivanka is in the picture.
Get it?
21
I thought Melania was first lady??
18
@RCJCHC Ms. Melania stayed home tryin harder to "Be Best" as her former spokeswoman now toils for the tweeter.
10
Bravo!
12
I don't like Ivanka and what she represents; but Bruni here has hit a new low in snide-ness.
It makes Bruni look bad, not Ivanka
9
Loved it. Our own American princess. England eat your heart out. Diana and Meghan have nothing on our gal, Captain America
6
@Sane Human
I hope I'm the first of many who will disagree. There have been so many situations where her presences was unwarranted or inappropriate because of her lack of intellect and expertise and compassion.
She is a rotten apple who fell close to the tree.
From a former Arlingtonian.
22
Disagree. No one could make Papa T and Ivanka-T look worse than they themselves do.
13
Bravo Bruni!
15
Let’s superimpose her glistening sheen onto the faces immigrant children being held in American concentration camps.
My opinion further applies to every cretinous member of the trump family. Show them drinking out of toilets.
30
Thanks for your wit and fine writing! I see you actually earned your position. How refreshing! I wonder what the world would be like if only the wealthy, well-coiffed and surgically enhanced ruled the world? Oh, yeah. We live in that world, the one going to hell in a hand basket. Royalty in America! Camelot as a Re-Run! Join us next season as Ivanka . . .solves climate change on her way to Nordtsroms!
25
Her father has made many an offhand comment regarding Ivanka's bright future in politics ("She could even run for President someday!"). He considered her for the head of the World Bank, for heaven's sake! It's clear that these photo ops are meant to substitute for actual foreign policy expertise, and will come into play when she runs for President in 2024.
22
So sexist! Would you be writing this in the same way if Ivanka were a son? It seems like the writer would be okay if "Ivanks" just stood by and silently looked pretty. If she did, he would would about how she's jus pretty and doesn't contribute. It's the inserting he's bothered by. Now that she's crossed a line into talking, it's become an invitation to vilify her for aggressiveness. Isn't this what many women in leadership roles get accused of, damnned if you talk and damned if you stay silent. Are women just good enough to make appointments and get coffee for our fathers? Ivanka may have access others may not because of who her father is, but at least she's there, and he values her to be there. I wish more fathers made that kind of effort for their children (at any age), even for their daughters!
7
she hasn't earned anything except how to use the system & presidency. wake up to reality
27
You miss the point. Everybody is sick of Jared, too.
29
@CP You obviously do not know the history between Trump and his daughter. Dig a little deeper. No one is "vilifying her for aggressiveness". The article is about entitlement. She didn't earn her place. She feel entitled to it. Do you understand the difference?? Has nothing to do with whether she's male or female. She doesn't know foreign policy and has no governmental experience. She's ENTITLED.
27
Very catty Mr. Bruni.
9
Snark worthy of MoDo.
3
Your nihilist attack is noted.
4
Remember Ivanka and Jarred agreed that she would be president first, so this trip was just training for when the Trump clan and republicans take over America.
Is this happening before our very eyes?
17
The most honest piece written about this clan and highlighting the dysfunction named Ivanka. Bravo!
30
How can I describe this column, other than to just say: Perfect.
Thank you.
28
Mr. Bruni - if wasn't so sad, maybe I could laugh.
Thank you for all you do in exposing the robber barons' atrocities.
I pray that they will just go away, but my prayers haven't been answered yet. Maybe tomorrow.
Good luck Frank Bruni!
14
I think President Trump is a disgrace, but this is petty opposition. Yes, it does not look great, but it pales in comparison to other things Trump does. Articles like this just give fuel for Trump supporters to feel maligned.
6
@Rodrigo They do not read the NYT, do they?
13
this is the product of and a symbol for those people who believe how things look is far more important than their substance.we have a president making meaningless gestures to an authoritarian butcher and losing a trade War we should easily win because he's so desirous of maintaining his own popularity with his intellectually deficient supporters.and we have Ivanka who serves no useful purpose other than to be her father's emotional support animal.
20
With the so-called "free" ticketing to the Trumpganza on the mall tomorrow, this nation has essentially devolved into a two class society: the Trump class (an oxymoron if there ever was one) who will have the "VIP" seating and the rest of us, "the little people", who are not his "fans" and never will be. And Ivanks is fake, "totally".
14
"It must have been wild, finding herself next to an egomaniacal autocrat like that. It must have been something to meet Kim Jong-un, too." Good one, Frank! Maybe a bit of shooting fish in a barrel, but still. Unfortunately, not many commenters seem to have grasped that Trump, ever delusional, thinks he's setting the stage for Ivanka's future run for the Presidency. I'm not joking!
15
Mr. Bruni:
Great piece. The one side of me is laughing hysterically at this clown show we are experiencing. The other side of me is rather terrified the more I pay attention. Today I will laugh. Tomorrow not sure.....
17
Sigh. I'm just so very, very tired of Ivanka. And her father.
25
Thank you so much, Times, fr finally exposing Ivanka and the rest of the trump clan for who they really are, thieves and scoundrels. I truly believe this country is mainly composed of hard working, deserving Americans but all we hear about is "the mysterious" women and her step kids all of which are privileged folks who have yet to experience a hard day of labor. ...Yes, Be Best!
9
OMG — this is so right on target; so horrible and so hilariously embarrassing all at the same time. I don’t think there is a word for it. Tragicomic doesn’t come close. If this were a TV show it would be a real hit. As reality, not at all.
10
Donald Trump is a man who objectifies women. He is a man who said he would date Ivanka, his own daughter, and urged her to get breast implants. I am no raging feminist, but he must feel that showing off his immaculately groomed and mannered daughter is going to melt the resolve of these world leaders. They will be so flummoxed and charmed, they will forget their silly 20 year plans and give Trump whatever he wants. Sorry, it doesn’t seem to be working. If she were put forth as “First Lady”, her presence would be acceptable.
But Ivanks has a handbag and shoe company, and has zero (non nepotistic) qualifications to be touted as “special advisor to the President”. I care very deeply about this country, and it is excruciatingly painful to watch her flash the camera ready smile and then watch her inject her strange and non-sequiter comments into the conversations of world leaders. I feel deeply embarrassed.
20
The egomaniacal autocrat being Kim or Trump?
2
This presidency is merely a vanity project (at tax-payers expense) for La Familia Trump. Everyone, everything is up for grabs in their pursuit of their own glory and to burnish their fool's gold crowns.
6
"Ivanka and Jared typify the belief that altitude is achievement, that breaching a sanctum is as valid as earning a place there and that faking it is indeed making it. Call yourself a peacemaker and — abracadabra — you’re a peacemaker. Play the part of a diplomat with enough élan and people will eventually take you for one."
She is her father's daughter. Substitute Donald Trump for Ivanka and Jared in the sentence and you have the Trump Family Philosophy: actual substance and real achievement don't matter.
It's all about marketing. Call yourself a successful businessman and poof! you are. Proclaim through blatant lies that you are the greatest president in history and poof! hail to the chief.
the acorn does not fall too far from the tree...
13
It's hard to watch what the United States has become. It's harder to imagine how it will dig its way out of this quasi-dictatorship. The red hats who are okay with nepotism and rule by Twitter whim are not going to disappear if Trump loses in 2020.
11
I believe the odd behavior exhibited by Ivanka Trump is one of the many symptoms of Affluenza Syndrome.
10
"Oh, to be Ivanka! The clothes, the kids, the teeth, the entitlement."
You forgot the hair extensions. It is pretty obvious from the accompanying photo that all that blonde hair is not hers alone. It probably isn't even blonde on its own. Just like the old man, she is nothing without the publicity.
10
"They’re shamelessness made flesh".
Yes. Absolutely.
I think that the only way to get to those horrid individuals, who incredibly are representing America, is to get into their skin.
Such as start talking about Ivanka's obviously excessive use of Botox. Yep, she's not a natural "beauty". Wow!!!
11
The Walter Cronkite Republican observes the wicked kings of ancient Israel and Judea had their "court prophets" who put on an ecstatic show, told them what they wanted to hear and then proclaimed their propaganda to their subjects. It would appear that the practice persists in contemporary times.
Thank you Mr. Bruni for this valuable and insightful piece of journalism. Please be sure to also cover the 2020 MAGA inauguration.
5
Ivanka has the same effect on me as syrup of ipecac.
6
They couldn’t find a babysitter so Melanie stayed home.
4
In the future we will ALL be Ivanka........for 15 min.
1
'Oh, to Be Ivanka
Talkin bout Ivanka Trump
She's not Donald's wife
But what a life!
We say 'How high?'
When she tells us 'Jump!'
'I'm telling you
It is so true
She's spoiled and pampered
Like her bro(s)
I wish that she and Dad
Now don't get mad
Just leave DC
Where they go
Who knows?'
(apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein. Ain't it a beautiful morning?)
3
I was certain that Trump would dump Pence for Nikki Haley in 2020. Now I'm thinking it will be "Ivanks."
BTW, have you seen the latest photo of Ivana in Nice? That's what we have to look forward to?!
3
Even the picture that accompanies this article:
All teeth and flash. For her, it’s just another fashion moment...
8
Well, here the new song recycled from Argentina for that poor little rich girl Ivanka:
"D'nt Cry For Me USA."
2
That picture of her with Abe and her father is ridiculous. She looks like a puppy trying to get between two people tfor some attention.
6
Did you ever notice that in the middle of #unwantedivanka is the word DIVA? How appropriate.
7
"Oh, to be Ivanka! The clothes, the kids, the teeth, [the Trumpian balcony] the entitlement."
5
Ivanka has gone from a pouty moon face to a starring role in The Seven Drumpfs. Yikes!
5
Can you imagine Jerry & Ivanks living in Texas? Kansas? N. Dakota? They ain't gonna like NYC after leaving (hopefully really soon.)
6
Tell me Frank, would you have seen Chelsea Clinton in the very same light?
After all, she played a rather public role during both of her mother's presidential runs. There was even talk of her taking a cabinet post if she won.
Both grew up in the limelight, though clearly from different vantage points.
I believe they even travelled in the same social circles from time to time and the press used words like "friendship".
Or, are they even relevant in the way you are giving them relevance?
Truth be told Frank, we Americans have to this very strange tendency to think of successful people in dynastic terms, though not necessarily through the lenses of reality TV.
In politics, there were the Adams, the Roosevelts, the Rockefellers, the Bushes, the Kennedys, the Clintons and now, for reasons that still escape me, the Trumps.
It just is and where daddy will go, his daughter will follow.
1
I would expect that Chelsea Clinton would have been assessed in the same light. Hiring for a campaign is a private hire and is much different then the roles that both Ivanka and Jared have been given.
Case in point - Hillary’s work on a health plan during the Clinton administration. We can argue about her qualifications but we can acknowledge that the GOP condemnation of her role was widespread.
I don’t hear similar condemnation from Republicans today.
Talk of Chelsea Clinton being given a cabinet position during a Hillary Clinton administration? I don’t recall hearing serious talk of that but , assuming she had no expertise related to a cabinet position, she would be deserving of a similar dressing down
3
@Mark W
From the NYT:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/29/us/politics/chelsea-clinton.html
So yes, there was talk of Chelsea becoming a part of her mother's administration, assuming she won.
One can even say that both parents were grooming her for a future career in politics.
She was not a benign entity.
Thus, would you expect anything different from Trump's children, including Ivanka?
This does not mean that I support familial dynasties, whether they be in politics or business.
I just see it in dynastic terms and frankly, so does the press.
1
I knew Chelsea Clinton.
Chelsea Clinton was a friend of mine.
Ivanka, you’re no Chelsea Clinton.
9
Thank you Mr. Bruni for channeling my angst with such aplomb and humor. The cognitive dissonance between the adventures of this entitled Barbie-doll and the stories and photos coming out of south Texas now (to pick but one example) is stunning. I nearly lost my lunch yesterday when I saw that photo of her.
But humor aside, let's not overlook the potential new threat to our already tattered national discourse, federal institutions, and reputation in the world that's emerging here, in the heir (and air-head) being groomed for what's apparently regarded by this family as a throne. I want to believe that it's not possible, but then, I didn't think what happened in November 2016 was possible either.
What can we do? All those complacent people who sat out the election in 2016 have to vote, right? And the rest of us have to encourage them to do so at every opportunity. Somehow, given the state of affairs now (on too many fronts -- political, social, technological, etc. -- to list here), that seems like a hopelessly naive solution.
9
I recall her at one time referring to herself as the "first daughter." Venial, but harmless. I don't mind as long as my taxes aren't paying for it.
1
In a country of empty people, people who become celebrities for a sex tape disclosure, people who post selfies all day to get likes, people who feel empowered by standing room only cells at the border while they sit in a salon, people who think they deserve to be first, people who think the roads should be fixed by other's tax dollars because they shouldn't have to pay taxes, people who don't put sprinklers in 55 floor apartment towers, people who need a lot of dresses for compliments while a baby floats in the RIO Grande, Ivanka is just perfect. But beneath the pretty dresses is a girl who's Daddy said he would sleep with her if she wasn't his daughter, a girl that laughed at Daddy's funny comment, a girl devoid of self introspection, who will use every opportunity to sell her brand because, after all, she has and is nothing else. Sad.
29
Ivanka, Eric, and Don Jr. are proof that having an ignorant parent can be a huge barrier to growth as human beings.
27
Mr. Bruni put the final nail in the coffin. Inequivocally, Ivanka Trump didn’t mind meeting one of the cruelest dictators, Kim Jong-un of North Korea because she’s a co-dependent of her father and follows him like a puppy. Unfortunately, since she never had a defined personality she’s still “daddy’s little girl.” Her only commitment was fashion.
Ivanka and her husband, Jared are Trump’s conspirators. They remind me of the musical fantasy movie “Beauty and the Beast.”
7
Poor little white princess went to the Ball and nobody danced with her because she was deemed of poor upbringing and dubious beginnings.
7
Please stop forcing us to look at yet another pic of yet another Trump as the price of reading the morning news.
10
Scouting locations for trump tower pyongyang.
12
It never would have caught my attention had you not brought it up. I don't pay her any attention but obviously you do. There are better and more education topics to write your opinion on.
Like Roy Moore running for Alabama State Senate?
8
Your finest column yet, Mr. Bruni!
Bravo!
10
These are not selfies. Its the press that is making someone who is easily missable such a deer in the headlights. The fame and incessant notoriety are your doing. Maybe you should just stop.
1
“If she weren’t my daughter I would date her”.
Eww no matter who said this.
But for the self proclaimed sexual predator and short finger vulgarian this makes sense.
18
My goodness, Frank! Sounds like she's the dream girl who turned you down in high school.
What children of any president didn't share the limelight of their daddy? Did you forget the Obama family's royal trips to Spain, etc., etc.?
You're transferring your anger towards the father to his daughter. No class, Frank. No class.
4
@SRS I don't recall Sasha and Malia Obama breaking into conversations among world leaders in order to display their lack of understanding and seriousness.
23
@SRS
1) You obviously know zilch about Frank.
2) I do not remember Obama's children profiting from their Dad's presidency e.g, speaking or singing inMandarin so that their businesses could continue uninterrupted in China.
3) I do believe that Frank would be considered a class act and a brilliant writer. This column was perfection personified!
4
The Old Orange King sits in his chair. His thongs of followers gather around to answer his every beckon call. As he knows he is dying, he wonders who will fill his legacy and watch over this Nation of Trump. Who will fulfill his family legacy and keep the good name of Trump alive? Not the boys, they have other agendas and can't be trusted to overshadow their father. Ah, but there she is-His Hope, His trust, His future leader of Trump Nation, His not so secret lust-His Daughter, the true first lady.
Yup folks, don't think it can't happen, he got elected didn't he?
6
It is actually much simpler than anyone thinks: Just be clueless and you will be halfway there. Then add money, Voilla! Ivanka.
11
I didn't elect a Princess...…and her dad is gross with her. Just saying. go look at the "family" pictures. It's wrong and weird.
10
To vote (and even more so: not to vote) has consequences.
However, from an outside (European) perspective this whole thing with Jared and Ivanka being "senior" advisors to this caricature of a POTUS impersonator is queer. It is simply unthinkable that this sort of nepotism could happen in, say, Germany, France or Scandinavia. But in a country that praises itself of its democracy and the checks and balances to contain the power this is possible.
Not only an electoral system whereby the one losing the popular vote by 3m can become POTUS, but also the strong position of the POTUS needs a revision. As it stands right now, Trump could take the USA to war with Iran without needing the approval of Congress.
At the time the US Constition was written no one imagined that someone as irresponsible as the dotard-in-chief could ever become POTUS. Time to reconcile and address this issue.
11
Indeed it must be take your daughter to work day! She is as unqualified for her job as her father is for his.
11
In a joint TV interview with Trump, Ivanka was asked what they had in common. Ivanka said “Golf and Real Estate.” Trump said “Sex.”
Gotta love time Christian Family Values.
14
Brilliant. Thank you.
7
If only her last name was Kennedy it would be ok.....
4
@WLH What about-ism has passed its expiration date. But, if you must, give us examples of Jackie (since the children were so young) profiting from JFK's Presidency or inserting herself into meetings of world leaders, etc.
4
My notes:
1) "I don’t like the Trump Presidency or policies..." from @Tom is code for "I'm a Republican and this is what I say to make me appear not to be an idiot in social situations."
2) Ivanka willingly acquiesces to her father's demand that she be with him or fill in for any number of high ranking cabinet officials because she knows what an insecure little boy he is, and that he needs all ally nearby when so many leaders have utter disdain for him.
3) Peel the onion a little more and you'll find that style over substance is the Trump mantra, and just like posing with strippers and soft porn stars, he needs some version of that around him to make him look successful.
4) Peel just a tad more and you'll find a sick and twisted father/daughter relationship that stretches the bounds of propriety.
5) Thank you Frank and commenters. After a starvation diet, I feel nourished.
10
When all else fails, trot out the "white privilege" card. That's about as ineffective as all those other cards (ex., "racist", etc.). Nothing like success to bring out the sour grapes and nastiness in progressives.
3
Such pettiness and snippiness throughout this article. Where were you Mr Bruin when Susan Rice was lying to the American public.
2
Mr. Bruni, you just hit a Grand Slam with Bases Loaded! BRAVO! May the Love Bird of Happiness lay a Pulitzer upon your desk.
11
If I wrote about Mr. Bruni as he wrote about Ivanka, here, the NYT would refuse to print it. In fact they may refuse to print this. The thing that is most upsetting is how popular this humiliating essay is about Ivanka and Jared. I guess the better angels of a lot of people just didn't have any impact when this woman and her husband were vilified in satire. Apparently the temptation was too great. If this is a part of all the "news that's fit too print" than I have lost all sense of that phrase. Even sadder is that I consider Mr. Bruni one of the most poignant and incisive writers of his generation.
2
@Curiouser They weren't vilified....they are vapid. She is a cypher and he is lighter than air. Their wealth serves up entitlement.
1
What was Ivanka's college major?
2
I doubt it had anything whatsoever to do with foreign policies, world disarmament, etc. we could go on forever.
4
I hope she drives a tank next.
5
Let’s face it. This is a family of grifters who are all in it for the money. Ivana ameliorates her charge of spousal rape so she can continue to live in the “style” to which she had become addicted. One son refused to speak to his father for a year over the way his mother had been treated but succumbed to the false glitter of his father’s wealth, and the rest of the siblings followed suit. The fault is the public’s who elevate “moneyed celebrity” to the level that all of these folks think they can rub shoulders with anyone of means or standing (real standing, not reality tv standing; or internet “style leader” branding) or insert themselves into any conversation that looks like it could be a stepping stone to a better ladder. Because, really, wouldn’t you be honored to be the recipient of their inane natterings and airs? Because, well, they’re the TRUMPS for pete’s sake, and you should grovel before their glitter.
That we, the taxpayers, foot the bill for a lot of this nonsense while children starve, go homeless, sleep in cars or detention centers and these cretins line their pockets at the public trough with our money is nauseating. The money that’s being spent on the “look-at-ME-I’m-your-favorite-president” campaign extravaganza set for tomorrow night in OUR capital could quickly fix the retched conditions at the border and do more good to restore our honor in the eyes of the world than almost anything. That that won’t happen is a stain on us, I’m tired if feeling dirty.
14
OMG, Frank! I was lying in bed reading your über clever column this a.m., and laughing out loud! Wish it weren’t so funny, though.
6
So, is this a red-pill world or a blue-pill world?
Or maybe the Matrix has been hacked by some prankster.
Surely the there are opportunities for playing off of the Big Lebowski character Donny - who is frequently being told he does not have a grasp on what is happening and needs to stay quiet. "So you have no frame of reference here, [Ivanka] You're like a child who wanders into the middle [Daddy's G20 meeting]
[Ivanka], you're out of your element! . . . [defense and misogyny are] not the issue[s] here!
2
Mr. Bruni: Thank you. NYT Editors: More like this please.
10
Don’t you know? It was “Take Your Daughter to Work” day.
6
Please, no more articles about the air-head Trumps. Most of your readers prefer something of substance.
1
Bravo Frank
7
Bruni's swan song to absolute grifters. Genius.
10
What a vapid family. From the President's first overseas trip, I cant forget Ivankas myriad photo ops: trying to "lean-in" to talks with Angela Merkel or hold daddy's chair onstage while he left for awhile. And who can forget Ivanka on the first trip to Israel praying at the Wailing Wall dressed to the teeth in appropriate designer Wailing Wall finery. Or with the Pope with stylish "Pope stilettos." You've nailed it.
10
So much hypocrisy, so little time~! Ivanka is a convert to some form of Orthodox Judaism. Does she look like an orthodox Jewish woman; does she act like one? Is her life style consistent with that association? She is a fraud, like her spouse, her father, and her brothers. How anyone can take this woman seriously as the president's daughter is beyond me. Does she seem like Margaret Truman or Alice Roosevelt or even the Bush girls? Give me a break.
11
Take your daughter to work
N Korea must be a quirk
trump took Ivanka not Melania to the G-20
Where she pretended to be so pretty
She was accompanied by her husband
Who look like he plays in the sugar band
Quincy Jones taught her about style
But at the G 20 she opened he mouth instead of smile
She was given security clearance after denial
Her father interceded cleaning the file
They walked into N Korea's killing field
Oblivious to the dead ready to yield
trump Jared and Ivanka run the USA
Surely someday we'll all pay
5
Like pretty much every aspect of this presidency, Ivanka’s overpresence is just surreal.
6
I am oh so tired of the trump clan.
10
Wonderful tongue in cheek....
6
I don't know what's worse: Ivanka, or the number of words in this column devoted to something of absolutely no importance or interest. In any event, I'm pretty sure she could not care less about what any of us think.
Her pop is president, why not go to the DMV?
1
@2REP - Oh trust me. She cares. They all care. Moreover, I care. Keep the TRUTH-telling coming.
5
@2REP
it helps to vent
3
I never witnessed a president placing his unqualified children in positions of power in this fashion. I never witnessed a president putting his daughter on display as a sex symbol with interest bordering on prurient and inviting others to ogle her in this fashion. I see quite a few elderly white gentlemen who seem infatuated with Ivanka and with Melania because of their appearance. I hear their comments about these young women and also hear disparaging comments about the two lawyer first ladies, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. I have to wonder if these old fellas just really, really miss the "old days" when women did not have their own accomplishments and personal power and were nothing more than a "charm on the arm", the younger the better. Wink! Wink!
22
Never mind the full hashtag. The separate bits are much more appropriate: What immediately leapt out at me was Unwanted diva
9
Oh, to be Kamala ! So many people to prosecute, so little time.
4
In all of this, how can anyone possibly deny the appeal of this type of person. Kardashianism. Utter self-absorption. And it works. It works.
5
Brilliant Mr. Bruni absolutely brilliant hubris at the max! Homer would be proud.
12
More brilliant than this year's (Special, partisan) Fourth of July fireworks in DC will be!!
12
Pride may well go before a fall, but that sure don’t mean that with the lowly there is wisdom, not these days, and not by a long shot. Reading about Trump’s efforts to fire up his base of uneducated Christian evangelicals reminds me that if they did get a little learning maybe they’d read a guy called Nietzsche, who long ago diagnosed their Christianity as a religion based around feelings of resentment. He was right, obviously. If god isn’t dead, She’s in the cages with the toddlers weeping while the good Christians cackle.
11
Frank Bruni for President. Kamala and Mayor Pete would be good too.
I have been waiting and waiting for the hubris fall. Are Americans so stupid and taken in by this contemptible, foolish family? Why are there no consequences, political or karmic, for this travesty?
15
Ivanka should focus on her most knowledgable subject, Reconstructive Surgery
12
The words hopelessly insufferable comes to mind...
Thank you, Mr. Bruni, for saying what all of us think. Well.
12
And . . . MANY people are saying Ivanka is the MOST UNWANTED person in HISTORY!!!
12
To laugh or to cry, that is the question.
11
Imagine if Ivanka were to use her status and influence to help the migrant children who are being interned in concentration camps in this country. The glitzy Ivanka juxtaposed with children who have been denied showers, soap, diapers, toothpaste, a shutting off of the lights at night, and other necessities that even our worst prisoners receive is the picture of the Donald Trump presidency.
18
More than a chip off the old block, she's a block in training; she's her own block in the making.
8
@Ron - You know they're prepping her to run for president, right? Can you imagine???? Wait til Fox gets on the bandwagon.
6
They say “fool me once........” tell me it isn’t possible!
3
It's the photo that counts. Appearences are everything
6
Stop this nonsense -- get rid of her and Trump.
period.
13
There’s not much to add but these interrelated questions, “What have we Americans done to deserve Trump and his unworthy spawn?” ...and... “How do we make it stop?!”
14
Gee, the Times allowed a column critical of their darling? On the equivalent of the Friday of a holiday weekend.
Javanka should be organizing a charity ball, not making the world laugh even harder at us. Her cringeworthy attempts at diplomacy are better suited to a reality TV show than the world stage where no-one but her leering father pays any attention to her at all. Well, her thoughts anyway.
11
As in all things Trump, his own trump himself. What was Ivanka doing sitting there w/all the big shots...wait! Where's there? Why everywhere, that's all.
7
Exactly.
Thanks.
3
Meanwhile, out in West Virginia......
"I love Trump because he understands people like me!"
15
Vapidness runs throughout the Trump family. Ivanka is just another iteration of white privilege run amok. Not intelligent, ill-mannered and another failed Trump business person. Ivanka and Melania are peas in the same plastic pod.
12
Democrats better NOT get it right over this next year. It is ok because they won't. Talk trash about her or President. It doesn't matter. They both will be back in 2020.
Mr. Bruni put the final nail in the coffin. Unequivocally, Ivanka Trump didn’t mind meeting one of the cruelest dictators, Kim Jong-un of North Korea because she’s a co-dependent of her father and follows him like a puppy. Unfortunately, since she never had a defined personality she’s still “daddy’s little girl.” Her only commitment was to fashion.
Ivanka and her husband, Jared are Trump’s conspirators. They remind me of the musical fantasy movie “Beauty and the Beast.”
5
The video showing Ivanka being brushed off trying to join in a world leader discussion is cringingly hilarious. It illustrates how the rest of the world has no respect for Trump and his ridiculous entourage. Ivanka attends a high level meeting with Daddy and Kim one of the world's most murderous dictators. Is she going to tell NK women how they can have it all?
No wonder we're a laughing stock.
14
Just make her the First Lady. That’s her job anyway.
1
Thank you Frank Bruni for speaking on behalf of every person in this world who just doesn’t get daddy Trumps obsession with his daughter. It’s SICK.
10
This is what you get with GOP power grab.. inexperienced and unqualified people like Ivanka can also grab what they want at the expense of not just liberals but at the expense of the USA.
13
Our very own Imelda Marcos in the making! MAGA!
12
No doubt while she was prancing around the DMZ the soundtrack in her head was Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl", all I hear is "Turkey In The Straw".
9
Get real Frank. Chelsea wasn’t paid more than others at the network because she was such a great reporter. And the Bush girls don’t write for magazines because of their journalism skills. Margaret Truman didn’t sell ghost written mystery novels because she was from Missouri. And Patton Jr. and Ike Jr. became Generals.
2
We think Ivanka and Jared are swell folks from what we see in the media. Mr. Bruni we think you have got it all wrong here in your opinion piece.
3
Frank - why no credit to the woman who started the meme? Erin Ryan, @morninggloria on Twitter. Please update your article. Thank you.
1
Not too pretty for prison.
15
At the DMZ, where was Barron?
I'm sure the tour would have provided him with great material to write his "What I did this summer" essay this fall when he returns to school
5
@jev Barron was home learning to "Be Best" under the tutelage of his Mom.
2
A family of phonies.
Phony as Trump steaks, Trump Vodka and most of all Trump University.
Phony intellect.
Phony policies.
Phony patriotism.
Phony Russian-assisted election.
Grifters.
Hustlers.
Pick pockets.
Spray these annoying ants in November 2020.
Rid ourselves.
Don't you dare miss the chance.
17
They disgust me to no end.
12
A Trump dynasty in the future United States?? Heaven help us!
8
Someone send Ivanka the game "Risk" and let her play it with her family...maybe Jared and Daddy Donald and step Mom Melania.
When is the last "episode" of the Trump Reality Show going to play...
Let it be soon...
John Kerry...your experience, education, dignity, intelligence and grace is being trashed by this callous family of wannabes...
8
So nasty! Ivanka serves our country without pay -- just the occasional official meal and the (paid) White House staff to help her with makeup, couture, speeches and the like. No one tells her what to do. As a result, she doesn't know but tries to pitch in whenever she can. She's missed countless Manhattan parties while doing her "public service." Her husband Jared at least gets suggestions from the top guy, none of which seem to pan out -- for either of them. At least, the collegial couple aren't screwing up their family businesses.
@Richard wow , practically and American hero
2
A wise teacher of my children had a sign in his classroom stating, “Being really smart is knowing what you’re dumb about.”
Any bright person investigates, studies and prepares. It would be great if we chose our politicians on this basis so that we don’t end up with any more Trumps.
804
@Reader: Dream on. Philosophers and political theorists have been postulating about governance through such utopian measures since at least the days of Plato's "Republic". It has not ever happened and will not ever happen because power attracts selfishness, mediocrity and superficiality like honey does the bee. Once in a while a serious, unselfish politician manages to find a successful path to power, but he or she is quickly chastened by chosen few who have little tolerance for change, especially that of a radical nature. Or such a maverick politician is corrupted by powers many attractive temptations. So it is rare indeed that we will have a leader with the brains, moral integrity, vision and political skills of an Abe Lincoln. In fact, I'd argue he was America's first and will likely be its last such president. That's because our vaunted Constitution is in dire need of amending in order to reduce the horrific impact of money in our governance. Until money is removed from how we elect our leaders and how are laws are legislated, the desires of special interests (usually corporate and plutocratic in nature) will continue trump the interests and welfare of the American people.
57
@Reader
All I can say is...Are you feed up with this circus yet?
Trump, Ivanka, Jared, Don jr., Malania, Bolton, Pompeo, Miller, McConnell, and the entire Cabinet will not be satisfied until America's treasure is drained dry, until you can not breath the air nor walk on a beach because of rising oceans, and a giant wall has been built around United States (yes Canada's border too).
Ivanka is the least of our problems.
24
@Jamie Nichols
Well said. The Supreme Court did a terrible disservice to our Constitution, our Democracy and Americans with Citizens United.
35
Ivanka has good judgement, and really great looks. She will not to any harm.
@the shadow
the ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions is the definition of judgment. She has none and looks like the Twilight Zone TV series where all the blondes wanted to look alike.
5
@the shadow - Good judgement? What evidence of there is this?
7
I find it difficult to see the Trumps as tragic heroes. There is nothing heroic about them. I just hope we are not saddled with them for another 4 years.
18
Wonderful profile of a spoiled brat. She truly is clueless.
43
Take Your Daughter To Irk Week?
34
I have no interest in working myself into high dudgeon over Ivanka's conspicuously unearned travel perks.
The only thing columns like this manage to accomplish is to focus our attention on irrelevancies and things that cannot be changed, no matter how biting the satire might be.
Trump won the election, he has the right to take his family with him wherever he goes.
Let it go, right now there is complete insanity going on in Oregon that nobody is even paying attention to.
12
Oregon will be just fine.
We do enjoy a bit of humor and the memes about the 1st family ...
As we struggle to pass legislation to deal with man-made climate change and deal with the street violence between left/middle/right wing activists... perhaps all a sign of what is coming our way across the nation.
7
@JayK Jared and Ivanka were only allowed to work in the WH because of a loophole.
3
@JayK,
This idea that because trump lost/won the election, he gets to do what he wants.....where did that come from?
Look up the word HUBRIS. It's such a bad, corrupting thing, that it's been a warning for all of human history, in all cultures. It's more than just Ivanka's stealing your tax dollars for her travel perks. She's the owner of private jets-why do WE have to pay? It's also the fact that NO ONE elected Javanks to form or even discuss foreign policy, and there they are, representing us to the world, just for Daddy's ego.
Let it go? NO! I'm well aware of the republicans' political machinations here in Oregon, and we can acknowledge multiple trump obscenities at the same time, no?
5
This is exactly what entitlement AND what someone who lives and dies by the PR rule book look like. Gall and attitude. They are also the two things that drive the educational teachings, belief systems and cultural engine within the PR/Comms field that dutifully serves our largest enterprise companies - the good, the bad, the ugly, and the devastating. While this article is all true and simultaneously hilarious and infuriating, the bigger issue is that this behavior and Ivanka’s roadmap are directly out of a common PR/Comms playbook. A playbook that has been around long enough now that many people in our culture operate by it, accept it as ok, live by it within this field and judge others by it. It’s a playbook that represents the biggest, sickest American con game around.
10
I agree with those who say Donald is planning on having Ivanka succeed him as "president."
We don't know what his health situation is, although his growing bulk, his complexion, and his confused language provide some hints. He must be aware that he could drop dead at any moment, so to ensure the succession, having Ivanka as vice-"president" would be better for his family than having Pence.
13
@Pecan They are both from the same state, so can’t be POTUS and VP unless 1 of them changes residency.
4
This was the best opinion of the day, however a sad basket case our country has become under the Trumps. Worst of all though is the GOP, SCOTUS and the military protecting him, with tanks.
20
Remember the ‘any press is good press’ adage? It’s the Trump motto, or at least a crucial element. While I believe we should call out nepotism & ineptitude, investigate & prosecute corruption and the like, I cannot help but think the Trumps live off every mention they get. #unwantedivanka is brilliant and this article is funny (but oh-so sad bc its true) HOWEVER I hate to give them any more attention. It’s truly the worst of times for the good ole’ USofA.
11
oh, Frank, I so agree with you! this shameless parading of Ivanka and Jared, does nothing to enhance America. why do we, the raxpayers, pay for their travels? they do not bring anything to the diplomacy table. it is bad enough that we suffer with the Donald, must we suffer with his spawn? they are wrecking what little is left, of our country. i am not impressed with the Democratic candidates either. they say, get out and vote, but fir whom, to steer the ship, that sinks a little, everyday.
9
So long, Mike Pence.
I predict Trump will jettison Pence from the ticket and run next year with Ivanka as his vice-presidential running mate. That's why he's taking her on all these foreign trips, to give her foreign policy experience.
If he's re-elected, he'll resign at the midpoint of the next term in order to make her the first female president, and to set her up as the Republican presidential candidate for 2024 and 2028.
So Rubio, Cruz, and Cotton and Scott and the rest of the GOP wannabes, you guys can pound salt (what, you thought in exchange for your support of Trump now that he'd bless your run for the presidency at some point in the near future? Ha, ha. Welcome to the art of the con).
Every corrupt kleptocracy needs its own entrenched and inextricable family dynasty.
These people will never go voluntarily. They will go the way of all dictatorships, which is never pretty.
Beware, America.
20
@AA
It is horrifying that the scenario you've presented is plausible.
4
You know, America is full of these folks-- the clueless rich and their clueless kids. It's not just the Trumps. I think that's the bigger issue.
23
@Steve, the clueless rich are not president, nor are they making Middle East policy. trump's power serves perfectly for the new oligarchs the trump family loves! WHY would the president gets a pass when he sells America to benefit only his mafia family?
The issues are all big when it comes to trump's corruption. Income inequality is the 'bigger issue' you mention, and Democrats have a plan to help that. Republicans? They have a deep well of sneering hatred. That is all. I'm serious, their platform is cruelty, one-party rule/king trump and white supremacy. Their plan of implementation is division, hatred, voter suppression and Russian-style propaganda. They cannot debate in good faith, and will not recognize America's laws anymore.
Their replies are inevitably filled with the most pathetically vague excuses and blame, whining about people who don't like trump, and repeated lies that no one would accept from a 9 year old. They'll tell us all the asylum seekers have suddenly become criminals and terrorists since trump divined their true intentions, despite all the non-terrifying immigrants we see in our daily lives, working alongside us.
Fortunately, MOST Americans still live with the concept of national values firmly in their hearts. I have no idea how trump supporters can go from the high presidential standards they insisted Obama meet, down to this current toad-in-chief! "Blah blah blah, what are you going to do about it?"
Imagine if President Hillary did this stuff.
7
Writing with sweep, wit, sarcasm, and precious venom. Does Ivanka not get that her brand will last as long as that of her father? That once his taxes become public he'll be shown to be the sham he is? I've heard that Trump wants his daughter to succeed him as president—a fantastical idea if there ever was one. Hubris and entitlement gone mad. Voters won't stand for it.
10
Are you sure voters will not stand for Ivanka Trump as a presidential candidate? After all enough voters “stood” and then voted for Donald Trump. And Trump had, and has, absolutely less than zero substance, as does Ivanka.
5
Trump and his daughter Ivanka have been throughout their 'careers' such as they are about the sale of empty glitz and glamour.
And when it wares thin it has landed them in bankruptcies and courts. Ivanka is a chip off the old block and her attempts at selling her brands have been no more successful than his. Trump and Ivanka have denigrated our country into a carnival burlesque, a laughing stock and now they have brought it to our 4 th of July celebrations.
15
She is being groomed to be a candidate for the presidency in 2028.
5
Every royal family a princess.
Don't tell Jared, but he's not the heir to the Crown, Ivanka is.
7
What a tragedy that with all the physical beauty ,and money
For anything Her mind is chained to Trump.Imagine what she could be, or where she could be instead of standing in photos
With no reason to be there except Daddy’s there.What has she been taught about her personal freedom ,to do as she chooses, and become whatever she wishes?Instead she is an object, used
By Trump to “ steal the show”. Another display of no respect
For women by a narcissist,Trump.
5
It's more like "Take our daughter to work four years".
6
Hubris is just the starting point for La Familia Trump. There is no crass rudeness they will not stoop to extend "the brand." Makes Miss Kardashian's "Kimono" debacle seem almost quaint.
9
Frank, I so enjoy your observations. Let me add that the reason Donny built his golf course on the grounds of the old Marine Land in Palos Verdes, CA was because the primer golf club in LA, the Los Angeles Country Club, refused to admit him. He and his family have always been, and will always be high society want to be grifters from Queens.
10
Anyone smart enough to add to the G20 summit would also be smart enough to know where and when they actually belong.
5
I take exception to Mr. Bruni's denigration of platinum (platinum-encrusted genes). Nothing in the Trump universe rises above the level of 10-carat-gold-plated pot metal.
12
So, what you're saying is: the Trumps don't suffer from imposter syndrome.
4
Oh, Frank Bruni. My thoughts exactly but so well written by you. Thank you!
7
This whole family is the poster child for the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
11
Ivanka represents everything our democracy is not. She is a failed dress and shoe designer who is now, courtesy of her daddy, a shadow secretary of state. We have always known that the rich were elevated and protected by unwritten laws giving them special privilages and advantages, but we have never had it displayed so blatantly and thrown in our faces as through the Trump presidency. Trump has managed to con a large section of our population, making them think he is their champion, when just the opposite is true. The Trump children are just along for the profitable and egotistical ride. Where would they be without their daddy, and where would Trump be without his daddy and Putin?
14
Ah, but underneath that shallow exterior lies a shallow interior.
16
Brilliant writing! Biting, imaginative, on the mark.
8
Trump would never go anywhere without a beautiful woman on his arm (even if it’s his daughter). I can hear him thinking, “Let Kim beat this”.
She is just another embarrassment for our country.
11
Frank, would you feel better if Ivanka wore a service vest to indicate the need for her presence. Not everything to wear one for the sake of who they’re giving emotional support to need be a black lab. Maybe if everyone else and especially in the media weren’t down on Trump all the time he wouldn’t feel he needed it whenever he steps out of the WH.
The Trumps are the apotheosis of America’s sickness: form over function.
10
The entire Trump family proves The Peter principle, a concept in management developed by Laurence J. Peter, which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their "level of incompetence".
11
The difference between MY lifestyle or the average American's and that of a NYT columnist is probably GREATER than the difference between Ivanka Trump and that NYT columnist. So please, Mr. Bruni, give the average American a break!
2
I do not believe that Ivanka & Jared's presence, either on presidential visits abroad like this one or in the White House itself, is "gratuitous". It was all meticulously planned for a specific purpose, likely before the 2016 election in preparation for the unexpected win that actually came to pass. This purpose was driven by the Trump family's knowledge, possibly excluding Donald, Sr., himself, of the patriarch's deteriorating mental state, which has been on display since he travelled down the escalator at Trump Tower in June 2015. Ivanka and Jared are in the White House, with sham "advisor" positions, to keep Trump secluded & to communicate "his" decisions when the ravages of his dementia proceed to the point that they can no longer be concealed and stage managed. This is analogous to the role that Edith Wilson played in her husband's White House after President Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke in 1919.
3
Narcissism and lack of empathy which is a central part of narcissistic personalities defines significant parts of the Trump psyches. Not only the president but his offspring appear to strive and work towards actualizing self interest and exhibitionism. It is difficult to experience empathy and even understanding as I watch any of them. Things have largely been given to them although they act as if where they are today is the culmination of a road less traveled by any other.
They are not the new Kennedys or the emerging nobilities but rather a summation of all what is wrong with a system that appears to value mostly material wealth and striving for more and more.Accumulation of things not only financial but attentional is the ecense of who they are.
9
Frank, this opinion piece on Ivanka is a keeper. Yet, I still miss her driving the tank in papa's 4th parade.
Trump, his vindictive spirit and ever promoting family, will go down in history as a preface to a country in decline. Yes, Rome burned. But America is being gutted from the inside out.
15
Beyond photo ops and simple articulations of
basic policies, she has not demonstrated any capable national or international political experience or deep knowledge of the issues. She is as "complicit" has her father in wanting to advance herself on the global political stage. Last, the nepotism/ego of the family and her father's need to avoid any possible (future) jail time are probably huge motivators to keep the family dynasty going. God help us all.
8
Is this my chance to ask , why does Ivanka have a patent on voting machines ,? this along with many more patents with China.
9
You know, it's fine to bathe in this kind of ironic humor but from outside your country it's hard to miss the fact that the United States is quickly sliding into an ugly combination of chaos and anarchy, immersed in a cultural civil war it's difficult to imagine ending because one side wields power it doesn't deserve with disgraceful impunity (power over the majority of voters) and the other side is busy conducting purity tests on itself.
Good luck. You're going to need it.
1268
@Norman Dupuis While I am in heavy agreement with your well-said retort here Norm, let it not be forgotten that Canada does not, and will never, exist in a vacuum. The economic and political stability of Canada rests on the United States in a heavy entwinement more comparable to being a 51st state than a nation standing alone. We're grateful for your patience up there while our Nation's leader lights our founder principles on fire and commend your pushing back, but let's not pretend that your future isn't pegged to ours.
Good luck to you too, Canada.
You're really going to need it, as always.
86
@Norman Dupuis
Well written my fellow Canadian. Nailed it.
34
@Norman Dupuis From someone trapped inside the country, I couldn't agree more. It seems like ironic humor is all we have left. It’s called desperation.
Every turn of events, every utterance from the White House, every announced policy, every tweet, every Mitch McConnell or Jared Kushner, every Democratic inaction and cowardice, every presidential wink to a foreign power interfering with our elections, every 4th of July celebration, every American myth, every Facebook outrage, every new statistic about income inequality, climate change, racism, gun violence – a never-ending list – becomes an encounter with surreal irony. And it never stops, day in and day out. It’s as if we are living in some bizarre nightmare that we can’t wake up from.
It takes someone from the outside to see reality – here, we can’t see the forest for the trees. We’re America: we never apologize to anyone for our behavior, and we never look in the mirror. We are exceptional - the greatest country in the world! Now that's ironic.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to rant. Unfortunately for Canada, you live right next to all the ironic insanity. Maybe you should build a wall.
131
The incredible lightness of being Ivanka, easy to dismiss her as being a lightweight but one with an office in the White House and a high level security clearance. If this doesn't sum up the absurdity of the celebrity presidency, I don't know what would. It's as if the tabloids were given the task of redefining governing and People Magazine the heady task of writing the rule book.
Jared and Ivanka clearly don't get it but what's frightening is that they are blissfully clueless that they don't get it.
12
How does it feel to be a graduate student hoping to get a job in the state department. You’ve had to learn at least one foreign language, been in university for six years studying international relations and travelled extensively so your resume can quality you for a job. Then you see the access and privileges Ivanka and Jared have and you decide this is wrong. Just plain wrong.
27
I’d suggest a good Trauma Recovery Therapist for her but that takes admitting there’s something unhealthy going on, making the decision to change and buying a pair of flats to run, not walk, to the next appointment.
3
So where are the Republicans criticizing his agenda? John Kasich please run for President in 2020 and bring some sanity back to the GOP.
14
I actually feel sorry for her. Just imagine the strain she is constantly under trying to please and mirror a father who expects her every action to be what HE deems right, not what she chooses. Just one day she might like to wear flats instead of spikes; or stay home with her children instead of flying across the world; or speak her own thoughts, not what is scripted for her. It wouldn't take much to be banished from his Camelot.
2
Ivanka Trump has done more to promote women and business than most in Congress. I think it's great that while everyone is busy throwing rocks, the Trumps just keep barreling ahead. Real mettle.
9
@AACNY - "Ivanka Trump has done more to promote women and business than most in Congress."
For once I agree with you. Sadly, that is a pretty low bar.
Unfortunately however, her being complicit with her father, remaining in the administration and not speaking out against the harmful policies and abuses more than offsets anything she's done and clearly demonstrates whatever it is that she has done "to promote women and business " (like trying to use the presidency to promote her fashion line?) was nothing more than window dressing for effect.
42
@AACNY sure, Trump has so much mettle he got deferments for bone spurs that don't exist. Right.
33
@AACNY
I don't thinks she has "promoted" anything except herself. She is living proof that, even nowadays, a woman needs good looks and expensive clothes to "be someone".
44
Mr. Bruno: I am a fan your commentary typically. But you are unfairly blaming Ivanka for gaining access to the world stage based on family status: this is the US tradition. When First Lady Michelle Obama travelled and represented the US, you and others praised her. When she broke protocol and touched the Queen, she was cheered on for shaking things up. When Hillary was First Lady and condemned for wielding so much power, journalists decried this as sexism. Just as First Lady is a post that one makes of it—it is based on tradition not Constitution—Ivanka is trying to do the same in the face of very harsh US-based criticism. Her only offense seems to be that she isn’t old, ugly, boring and grey; she’s young, beautiful, blonde and modern.
Rather than present specific offenses or substantive policy problems that Ivanka committed, you’re basically making fun of her and hazing her on very superficial and looks-based criteria. I don’t like the Trump Presidency or policies, but that doesn’t justify you stooping to his level in your critiques of his hard-working and well-intentioned daughter.
489
@Tom She is not the First Lady, and therefore the comparisons you make do not apply. A First Lady would be expected to accompany the President and interact on the world stage. The president's children should not be interacting with world leaders, especially when they are so woefully inadequate to the task. It would be difficult for Mr. Bruno to present a substantive policy problem that Ivanka has committed, because she has no substance, let alone a grasp of policy issues!
3519
@Tom You left out one major descriptor in describing Ivanka. The phrase should have read "she's young, beautiful, blonde, modern and very incompetent."
1842
@Tom
Ivanka is not qualified for nor did she fairly compete for any official position held in the White House.
She is allowed to tag along solely because she is Trump's daughter. First Lady is an official position with a full slate of job duties!
If you went to your dentist and he said, "Oh, my daughter will clean your teeth. Has she gone to dental school? No. But she is my daughter, so I'm sure you will be fine!"--would you approve?
What we see with Ivanka is sheer nepotism; it's unprofessional and unAmerican!
2473
I have a question. Did Margaret Truman fly to Guam with her President father when he decided to fire General Douglas MacArthur? The entire country would have been aghast at such a prospect. Not today - it's simply blown off as Donald being Donald. What's going to happen when Ivanka, Don Jr. and Jared all decide to run for President? Will the Republican party - still in power - decide to suspend the Constitution and let them rule as a triumvirate?
I can see aging Lindsay Graham. Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas leading the charge to make this change
in the constitution. Oh what memories the country has to look forward to from this time with the Donald.
11
Assuming Trump and Kim reach some kind of nuclear deal they can claim as a “success,” whether meaningful or not, I expect we’ll soon see Ivanka opening up a line of her clothing stores in Pyongyang.
6
Thank you for this. I abhor Twitter but really needed to see these.
8
Not funny.
2
I look forward to some real and doctored photos of Ivanka and Betsy Devos in prison.
14
Will this ever end???
6
Brillliant!!!!!!!
12
I found it telling that trump put her at the centre of the G20 group photo, not so much as to declare her the rightful heir as his "world leader pretend"; rather, he genuinely appears to need her there to keep at bay the otherwise visible discomfort he exudes in the presence of bonafide world leaders, people who actually sit through intelligence briefing and can process information from multiple sources.
27
Understatement!
8
At least I enjoyed the memes. Everything else about this scares me.
25
Trump has tapped his clueless daughter who now will meet with our now former allies. This is beyond belief.
27
@sbobolia
I'm sure Trumpy thinks of Ivanks as his substitute First Lady on this trip.
On so many levels.
3
bravo! great way to start the day reading about " ivanks"...sad but i guess it is what it is. i guess like in much in this age of trump i'll just have to grin (thanks to frank) and bear it.
4
This just in ... the reason Trump is forcing the military to do this parade is now clear. during his speech tomorrow Trump will be awarding Ivanks the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
17
This would be funny if it weren't so scarry! Your point is that she is a joke who is inserting herself into everything that she has no expertise in. She is just a show and nobody could possibly take her seriously. Don't you people ever learn? That's exactly what they said about her father. When she is innaugerated as the first woman president it won't be so funny. Can't happen? Yeah and Donald will never be the Republican nominee and could never be elected president. Wake up. Donald is clearly paving the way for her in 2024 and his "base" will go crazy over her. Those who underestimate the stupidity of the American voters do so at their own peril.
30
There is still lots of time for the tail of the Trumps to have a spectacular crash and teach the world a new lesson on hubris.
9
Hilarious! Thanks!
9
I think we’ve hit peak ‘Kardashian’. - no where else to go in the reality show that is our government - that is us. Democrats better get it right over this next year. I think the republic depends on it.
711
@SusanFr
Don't blame Democrats. We're not the ones who nominated a reality TV star.
29
@SusanFr at this rate, Kim Kardashian is more legit than Ivanka! At least Kim is working towards a law degree and successfully pushing for prison reform lol
15
@Observor
It doesn't matter who the republicans nominate if democrats don't turn out the vote.
There's plenty of blame to go around. Converting it into momentum would be worthwhile.
12
Thank you Frank Bruni, I really was in need of a good chuckle and this piece did the trick! What an effective way of displaying just what a farce Trump's administration really is and what chumps his supporters are. I doubt they will find it as hilarious as I did.
13
@Karen
Karen, that is so deeply disturbing for two reasons.
The first reason is obvious, the second is that it's almost plausible.
C'mom, give poor Ivanka a break. She went to the DMZ because she thought it was a shoe outlet.
But, not to worry, she'll end the Korean War with a peace treaty that'll be absolutely fabulous while Kushner's $50 billion peace plan will wrap up that bothersome mess in the Middle East.
Too bad they don't recognize climate change as being real because the Earth sure could use their expertise to refreeze the north and south poles.
32
@jonathan "She went to the DMZ because she thought it was a shoe outlet." That made me LOL so hard! Thank you!
2
@Jeremy You're welcome but we should be crying!!
2
Maybe there should be a contest or reality show to place the Trump heirs in ever more ridiculous photoshopped situations. Or better yet GIFs. The recent versions are fabulous. In the past, normal presidencies, kids were off limits, but these two may actually be significantly smarter than POTUS. I’m not suggesting actually doing this, but if someone wanted to unhinge (ok, he is) the president just put Baron in them. Over the line? Probably. But the Pubs did it to Amy Carter. Trump would lose what little he has left of his mind. Just sayin’.
3
Like I've often said, the Trumps are like the Mafia, but without the smarts or sense of honor.
29
To paraphrase this article, does playing at being president make you a president?
13
The video of Ms Legard giving Ivanka a disdainful glance, as if she passed gas in polite company, made me wonder: does Ivanka ever feel the sting? I doubt it. She too exhibits narcissistic traits.
25
I suspect Ivanka just thinks “ that’s their problem “ I’m fabulous!
4
@John, considering who Ms. Legard is used to hanging out with she certainly would know how to deliver that look. Maybe a little more fresh air like Ivanka would good her some good.
When does the good fairy come and freeze them all? Does Ivanka A Whit House and Fab Fam toy set? Complete with pricing appropriate?
1
Well done Mr. Bruni.
I wonder how her sense of female empowerment and her father's access Hollywood tape align. Oh, I forgot she is his type.
13
You mean the same ivanka , the one who’s OWN father said, “if she weren’t my daughter I would date her”.?
14
If Ivanka had done just one thing in the last two-and-a-half years to demonstrate that she deserved the position her father gave her in the White House that would be one thing. She's done nothing worth noting. In interviews she sounds confused. #unwantedivanka
12
I don’t know about confused , more like clueless and detached....can’t be bothered, we’ll lie about it all later attitude.
2
Memes were made for this.
8
The fact that the president constantly refers to Ivanka's looks and calls her "baby" in cabinet meetings undercuts her own ambitions to be taken seriously as a diplomat, or even a presidential adviser. It's obvious he doesn't want to hurt his little girl's feelings, so he humors her by letting her sit at the big people's table. If he doesn't take her seriously, why should anyone else?
11
Frank Bruni: Thank you for conveying in a snarky, humorous fashion what many of us are thinking yet can't manage to say out loud. Your take is valid. This family of entitled grifters has stepped over the line too many times.
11
Mr. Bruni, today it is your column that is a reason to live!
I used to find the "Kennedy Hubris" foil for conversation and witty metaphor. No more. They have been Trumped-10 fold by the hubris of our current first family. The best part is they haven't the grey matter to see the irony. No way Ivanka doesn't believe she belongs in a conversations with European heads-of-state. You know she believes, with every ounce of her being, that her mind is up to the task. Not her looks mind you! (but she really is quite beautiful isn't she?) This story is like an acid trip, words don't convey the magnanimity of the plot!
3
Seems like Don is grooming Ivanka as the next president, to run as soon as he finishes his second term.
7
By use of the phrase "any random heiress" the opinion writer starts a polemic with name calling. Suppose readers refer to him as "any random journalist?"
2
Just wait for when Daddy Trump puts Ivanka on the 2020 ticket as Vice President. Pence will praise the smart move.
5
Ivanka turns my stomach, as it should turn all stomachs.
10
Perfect, just perfect Frank. Ivanka certainly did steal the show. I think she actually outdid her bellicose dad this time. In typical trump tradition they will continue on in the White House Loony Bin while the world laughs and makes jokes about them. This is where we are in America. I'm sure she'll also be front and center at the trump campaign rally....I mean July 4th celebration.
7
Ivanka will be the first woman president. putin will guarantee it.
3
Yet again Ivanka has proved to be another embarassment on the world stage. Praised endlessly by her father, this golden token, a feather in his cap, feels it's her entitlement to insert her presence among world leaders discussing heavy issues regarding world situations, most of which would undoubtedly go over her head. Where others in discussion seemed to mostly ignore her presence, the look of incredulity on Christine Lagarde's face, at some inane comment of Ivanka's, was just precious. The look of a thousand words!
11
Will Trump run her as his V.P. this next go around? She is his type!
8
Dear Lord.
They're first ladies. Not daughters.
Trump put his kids in positions that they're not qualified for and daddy broke all protocol, as usual, to put them there.
5
One can only hope that Ivanka and the rest of the Trump clan end up in Leavenworth. Except Kansas doesn't deserve to have them there.
10
What else should we expect from a woman who writes a book about being a working mom. As if that is a novel concept. She plays at work with Daddy's money and has the audacity to write about it. The rest of us work because we need money. Not because its fun to travel the world with daddy, dress up and act important. If she had any concept of reality at all she would resign and go back to making ugly shoes.
11
Bruni’s piece has plenty of wit and fine writing but does the subject herself deserve approximately 725 words?
2
It's the third of july, the eve of trumps unwelcome takeover of a traditional DC 4th celebration. OUR holiday, in which all of us get in touch with our inner patriot, during which even the biggest cities exude small town American charm. He is taking a wrecking ball to it and it seems ma nature is not going to bring blinding rain as we all hoped. In that mood, let Frank and his readers have a bit of fun at the expense of his simply awful daughter and SIL. The collective laughter-- albeit sad and ironic-- justifies the word count.
1
Ivanka is practicing for her assertion to the presidency.
Harris, Warren and Klobuchar you don’t need to apply Ivanka is the anointed one.
3
Brilliant - just brilliant.
7
Oh my gosh. Absolutely the best piece. I am in awe at the ingenuity and creativity of the Twitter universe. Until I settle down after the chuckles and remember once again that we are being duped by a grossly inept bunch of hoodlums dressed in designer chic. Let’s bring them to their knees in 2020.
8
What an enjoyable read! I laughed! I cried. Well, mainly I cried because it's not fiction.
9
Thank you for this essay.
I hope that the images of Ivanka at the Newport Folk Festival (with Bob Dylan?) and at Rhode Island's famed Bristol Fourth of July Parade (claimed to be the oldest in the US) and in other Ocean State settings are created.
3
There is so much that is wrong with this Presidency.
524
@Sherlock
I'd say "wrong" is an understatement.
24
@Sherlock
I dont think of it as a presidency. It is more like self entitled people strutting around hocking their cheap wares.
28
I can’t help it; in my mind the gaudy Trump family has morphed into the Jed Clampett clan, or perhaps vice versa. Wherever Pa goes, mangling language, manners, basic knowledge of history and culture, they all have concluded they’re also welcome, even necessary to maintain the glitz and gleam of THEIR administration. And usually some sort of new embarrassment for the American people ensues.
9
@Karen
If only the Trump family had the sense of honour and empathy for others that the Clampett family displayed.
I'll make this prediction: Ivanka Trump will one day run for president. And win.
1
@Ben Calwell
Then I will most definitely burn my passport and seek asylum in the EU or Canada.
3
@Ben Calwellh Yes of the Bedford Hills inter prison debate team.
1
Ivanka, as described so ably in this piece, is more than just a recipient of the nepotism of Trumpland. She is actually a reflection of what America does best - it’s exultation and love of unearned celebrity, as if America loves its reality show stars because they do reality better than the rest of us. Let’s face it, we created Donald Trump, and in so doing, out popped Ivanka.
We have only ourselves to blame.
25
Fox and Friends loved it !!! She is so beautiful and bright and represents the boundless youthfulness the exudes from all things American.
2
"With Daddy she swanned toward the Hermit Kingdom, testing the boundaries of Take Our Daughters to Work Day." Frank, you outdid yourself with that. Hilarious and absolutely perfect for this grand May Day, er, 4th of July stunt the faux family is foisting on America.
22
Frank: You nailed it. I needed a good laugh first thing this morning. The Trumps are "Grifters". I shall miss them. They are all about their "Brand". They all share an elitist attitude that has scorn for especially their red cap wearing followers. Wake up America! I have never known such lucky rich folks to exhibit not one iota of class! They seem to have never met a Murderous Dictator they couldn't adore!
17
In other circumstances, this could be called cyber bullying. He spends all his energies denigrating Ivanka. I wonder when he finished, did he say, "Oh boy, oh boy, did I get her. I especially like the photos I put in. He! He! He". In other places, one might note that she loves her father, and he loves her. He has someone he can discuss things confidentially without it being published in the NYT the next day. Maybe Mr. Bruni thinks she should have stood quietly in back, smiling, her hands clasp together, contributing nothing, saying nothing. She should know her place. After all, she is a daughter not a son.
4
@Ron - "Maybe Mr. Bruni thinks she should have stood quietly in back"
Many of think that she shouldn't have been there at all. Nor in the White House except as family visitor.
But if are worried about someone speaking about Ivanka inappropriately you might be more concerned about her father, rather than an opinion writer about a public figure, the President who in Korea not only gave her appearance as her greatest asset but has spoken about how much he loves her in the past:
“Yeah, she’s really something, and what a beauty, that one. If I weren’t happily married and, ya know, her father….”
https://forward.com/schmooze/357185/7-creepy-things-donald-trump-has-said-about-ivanka/
https://www.elitedaily.com/p/9-donald-trump-quotes-about-ivanka-that-are-super-uncomfortable-8646720
3
@Ron Dude, she IS a daughter. Not a diplomat. And she is not the First Lady (although, given our POTUS' alarmingly sexist remarks about his own daughter, one might wonder). It would be wrong, even if Ivanka were male, to gallivant at taxpayer expense as if she were an official representative of this country. Ivanka has zero credibility -- and if she is going to present herself as a figure of authority, at the aegis of her no-nothing father, then she is fair game to be satirized. That would hold regardless of sex.
This 'administration' wants you to think they are above the law...And, that they are above to be written about disparagingly. Neither is true, and yet you believe it because -- why? How many seasons of 'The Apprentice' did you down, as if it were 'reality'?
4
.....but, you have no problem with the constant degrading demeaning attitude that Trump spews forth on a daily basis towards anyone who might disagree.
Ivanka should not have been there at all, she doesn’t have any knowledge or concept of international issues, she is not a diplomat, she is only his spoiled rotten daughter !!
4
Ivanka Kushner, a clothing/jewelry promoter, and Jared, a real estate developer (whose sister pushed in China investments likely to result in visas for the purchasers)---- with no government, diplomatic or political experience or post graduate education in political science or foreign cultures--- crossed a line with their similarly unqualified father/father-in-law into a dictator-controlled country. For what purpose? For what accomplishment? With what archival documentation? With which high level member of the Department of State? With which qualified United States diplomatic expert?
Will Kellyanne Conway give us the answers and provide transcripts? (This would not be a violation of the Hatch Act.)
Merci beaucoup, France, for the video of Ivanka trying to interject herself into the. conversation between the British Prime Minister, French President, and the Head of the World Bank.
Truth-telling we would not otherwise have received.
25
Thank-you Mr. Bruni.
So well written.
I laughed till I cried.
...And then I just cried.
27
Dictators and Mafioso typically use trusted family members - this situation is no different in my opinion.
19
Perfect, simply perfect. Keep these columns coming day after day.
8
You can read about Ivanka's travels, positioning, and elbow rubbing in her upcoming book: "Deep Thoughts About My Years in the Oval Office" by Ivanka Trump Kushner
9
Dear Frank,
you have excelled yourself and brightened my day with this gem of an article:
Pat Connolly
7
Ivanka Trump ... what is her skill? Talent? Nothing; born to wealth is not a skill, and we're to suffer her pointless presence on the national and international stage.
16
Thank you Frank for putting my feelings into words. It is shameful nepotism. These amateurs are an embarrassment and will potentially cause real harm to our country. The frustrating part is....all we can is watch this spectacle.
10
This is why nepotism rules were invented. Anyone who has ever worked with the boss’s daughter or son know how corrosive their presence can be.
15
Perhaps Bruni’s most brilliant essay.
8
I wonder: if Trump wins in 2020, Will he encourage Ivanka to run for president in 2024? Maybe that’s why Trump took her to the G-20, to groom her so people can start taking her seriously? I’m not kidding, think about it. It would be a way for Trump to stay in office 16 years. It would be a way for him to stay out of jail, assuming that he is convicted for money laundering, bank fraud, financial fraud.
8
This article is to be cherished. I’ll always remember - Twitter can be a toilet..but sometimes it’s a reason to live. The pain returns however when you realize this article, if ever read by the subjects, would leave no imprint. Narcissists and egomaniacs are never introspective. To believe in justice one would like to think at certain times each day despair grips their innards as they are forced to acknowledge the minus sign of their true worth. Alas, not so. They just go through life in that Kardashian way.
10
Mr. Trump is not to be pitied for the outlandish behavior of "his spawn and spawn-in-law." He is responsible for it, enables it and applauds it.
The outlandish behavior which you correctly decry is not an embarrassment to he who knows no shame. It is a mimicry of his own behavior which includes dishonesty, incompetence and a disregard or total obliviousness to rejection.
Despite having been an absentee parent who left the mothers of each of his offspring in turn (except so far, the latest), he has obviously had a tremendous influence on their lack of character and enables and encourages the antics which embarrass and demean our nation.
He who knows no shame, brings shame upon the USA and himself whether he knows it or not. And so do his spawn.
7
That’s a perfect name...” he who knows no shame.”
3
Trump is probably attempting to position his daughter for some elected position in government by having her tag along everywhere. The video of her trying to insinuate herself into a group of world leaders was rather pathetic.
8
If he could read, one would suspect that by “exposing “ Ivanka, Trump is ripping a page from the Bill and Hillary playbook; or from the Bushes; or Kennedy’s. No we don’t have American royalty, right?
1
No comparison: these other people were at least qualified intelligent public servants , law degrees, etc.
Ivanka is none of that....
4
I loved this article. And, I honestly believe if Hillary C. had won, Chelsea would have been in many many photo ops around the world. She was front and center at 'mommys 2016 convention', also, as the 'heir apparent'. All of them are narcissists.
1
Trump created a nest of monsters . Every member of that family
is equally offensive.
The Trump’s do not have the where-with-all to be arrogant. They are shamelessly without a touch of grace and restraint.
Trump’s career is a total sham. Ivanka Trump is one of that
product.
Oh that this era ends soon. It is all beyond the pale!
9
“It must have been wild, finding herself next to an egomaniacal autocrat like that. It must have been something to meet Kim Jong-un, too.”
Very good line. I just hope Trump supporters can see Chelsea Clinton in this role and find nothing wrong with it. Ivanka Trump, world leader.
6
What does Ivanka Trump actually do? She seems to be the Kardashian of government. I didn't realize there was such a thing as a Kardashian of government. Who knew?
5
@ACA
She has run several successful businesses. And she has been actively promoting female entrepreneurship in Africa.
2
@AACNY Promoting "female entrepreneurship in Africa? I have been to Africa in the past few years on business - and no no no - why "female entrepreneurship?" Unbelievable disdainful fabrication. Grifters are all over this world, in every culture and every skin color. They are rich and they are poor. Lying is also an equal opportunity sport.
1
@AACNY
Um, OK. What does she do for the government?
1
What many seem to be missing is that the antics of the Trump clan, which by themselves are a modern version of the house of Atreus, are also an existential nightmare for Americans with a moral centre. The fact is that Trump wins. He wins in every contest he enters, politically, economically, legally, and personally. There is no comeuppance. There is no righteous justice where hubris is punished and the audience learns, as did audiences to Sophocles or Aeschylus, that gods and fate still undergird a comfortable moral determinism. Trump isn't just immoral; his immorality and ceaseless victories are evidence that the world does, indeed, belong to the Ivankas and Jareds.
7
Shamelessness is the greatest of Trump family's virtue! Trump mastered it over decades fighting for the top cover of the tabloids.
Without shame, he is invincible.
8
I still think that Ivanka is taken along on these junkets as a care taker role, tending to her father's growing mental disabilities. Some others have likened her to a service dog.
8
It’s probably true, she reassures him he’s not a total idiot...that people actually do like him, that he is a stable genius, etc.
Yes, in that sense she enables her father to act like he isn’t a complete moron!
1
"Ivanka has every right to attend the G-20 and inject herself into conversations between heads of state and other dignitaries in attendance.
After all, her expertise is based on ... hawking purses and other fashion accessories manufactured by children in third-world sweat shops."
8
We know that being born into poverty leads to negative outcomes, but Ivanka proves that being born into insane wealth also leads negative outcomes, especially when being raised by someone who is clearly psychologically unbalanced. This period in American history will be over soon, and history will not be kind. I can accept that people suppport the tRump presidency because it has helped them economically, but people who claim that they don't see the harm that Trump and his family are doing to Americans' reputation on the world stage are either blind or lying. I do give Ivanka props on her hair though...it must take hours to get that straightened and smoothed so perfectly. Yeah, you are just like us...pfft
11
Mr. Bruni- One has to keep in mind that everything that the Trump family appears to be, and do, is a fraud. Just like Trump Steaks, Trump Airlines, Trump University, and Trump Wine, the Trump Presidency is a fraud. He is not a President, but a con man occupying the office of the Presidency after a fraudulent election. He, and his family, are fake rich, fake smart, fake entitled, and fake competent. That’s why true is false, false is true, up is down, Jared is a diplomat, Ivanka is a princess, and Trump is an autocrat. What they are is a lie, a phony brand intended to grift revenue from sources foreign and domestic. The ultimate reality show: looks real but as phony as “The Art of the Deal”.
14
Absolutely, every word.....true.
1
I have to remind myself daily that this is actually happening.
10
@Maryrose,
I agree, just like when Obama was president.
I do not care one wit to see or hear about Ivanka. Hers is not the news I want or need to see. That stunning gloss facade that obscures the ugliness of fools’ play, the feverish folly of financial fame and fortune. I wish to wipe away that mesmerizing mask that sheathes the down-to-earth realities of the lives of millions upon millions of people worldwide. The people worthy of real - not ‘fake’ news!
1
Why is everyone hounding Ivanka? After all, wasn’t she the one who fled tyranny and immigrated to America and later defended her doctoral thesis A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh and the Problems of Peace 1812-1822 at Harvard University and then later worked in several administrations in diplomacy? Seems qualified to me.
4
Remember 80s power dressing for women?—the broad-shouldered suits, the worsted wool pinstripes adapted from menswear, the blouses buttoned to the neck, all of it with one message: Look at my brain, not my body. (You could also think back on films such as “Baby Boom” or “Working Girl.” )
So ask a fashion historian, or even a personal shopper, what message Ivanka Trump projected when wearing her pink floral chiffon dress in the company of the tailored suiting worn by Theresa May and Christine Lagarde at the G20, in the photo with Macron and Trudeau. The message was as unambiguous as the treatment she received: Wallflower Status.
8
be careful. she may replace bolton, neither having the experience needed to make wise decisions.
4
Oh Mr. Bruni...your wizardry with the English language never fails to delight me. What a gift! To say that this column hit the nail on the head would, indeed, be an understatement. I am so angered, exhausted and saddened by this county's obsession with "celebrity" and acceptance of mediocrity. Thank you for expressing my feelings toward this family of grifters in a way I never could.
4
Most fresh prose award! Thanks!
2
Poor Ivanka. Born on 3rd base and striding through life as if she hit a triple.
5
And yet, here we are talking about Ivanka. I would rather see in-depth articles about why trump backed off his restrictions on US businesses doing business with Huawei.
3
@Chris
$
4
Your Travel columns, particularly the one on Malpeque oysters, were far more interesting, earnestly written, and less degrading of the humanity we all inhabit.
I followed your recommendations all over PEI. This column only makes me sad for the deep cynicism of the Left and the course your writing career has taken.
I am still pining for the Moderate the DNC will take down and wondering whether a third-party candidate will rise up.
The Left is hopelessly lost.
See if they will take you back in Travel. It might save your soul, Frank. This kind of writing is most corrosive to your heart.
3
This clueless young lady is just one of the shiny objects distracting us from the real damage being wrought by Trump and the GOP: to the environment, to migrant children, to our scientists, to our free press, to trade, to our State Department, to our alliances and to our international reputation. While she and her equally clueless husband prance around in the Trump reality show, our values are being eroded for all to see.
11
A symphony of an Opinion piece. So many quotable lines. Par excellence. Mr. Bruni, I salute you!
3
I love you Frank Bruni! you know just when I'm in need of your marvelous snark, or when to call a thing a thing because it is dangerous to our democracy and heading us toward facism.
Balancing moral outrage with some healthy sarcasm is just about the only way one can mentally survive this Trumpian nightmare which I fear will continue in 2020.
6
Oh Frank...love your recognition of hubris. It has always existed in human history as recorded in Greek tragedies and even the Old Testament of the Bible. There is optimistic hubris as evidenced by Obama whose unrealistic expectations that cooperation by diverse citizens would translate into a positive outcome with a toxic partisanship in Washington. There was the hubris of GWB who represented American arrogance.
And then of course there is the explosive hubris of the entire Trump entourage that is almost unspeakable in the destruction that it is wreaking in our country and around the world. The only members in that conclave who may be exempted are Barron (tho he surely faces a crippling future like that if of Rapunzel who was prisoner in her ivory tower) and Tiffany who either by her choice or that of her father is not showcased. Almost forgot the often absent Melania whose declaration recently about her rewarding status of First Lady is hardly reality.
I am fine with individuals facing the consequences of hubris, as history has shown they certainly will at some point. The question is, can we, the nation survive the consequences?
Your vote and your voice DO matter and make a difference. Use it wisely to save our nation that WE might not fall victims as well.
6
For whom are “the interests of America”
of interest? Concern?
An issue? A problem?
An anguished Ode, of
Flowing, onomatopoeic, prose .
During troubled times.
In a divided WE-THEM
violating and violated nation.
Of diverse people.
Native born, and migrated into.
Legally and not.
Increasingly uncivil. Mistrusting.
Disrespecting.
Excluding.
Marginalizing.
Experiencing, at the same time as causing, unnecessary painS!
To be continued?
As long as Americans worship beautiful and rich people, you all can argue about it. Rich and beautiful people deserve NOTHING. No attention, because they get everything.
But people cannot look away from the pretty baubles, regardless of their uselessness.
3
She's apparently learned a lot from the media that surrounds her. Let them without sin cast the first stone.
It could have been worse; Ivanka could have been twins. We can now only hope that we have to tolerate her for a number of months more, and not a number of years. However, trump has tapped into a racist vein in America that probably assures him another four years.
While praising the intelligence of the American electorate, he secretly knows that they can be led around like bulls with nose rings - only instead of bull rings, he uses their beliefs and prejudices to lead them wherever he wants.
If DJT doesn't destroy our fragile democracy, he has published the blueprint and playbook for some other demagogue to do it later. If a democracy like America's is going to exist, there will have to be a paradigm shift in human thought throughout the world.
In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. These minds see the survival of a particular belief as more important than the survival of us all. When we understand all this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
1
Pretty spot on, I guess. And quite droll. But Ivanka isn’t the problem. She may be an opportunistic deluded rich daddy’s girl, but can anyone fault her for that? Well, maybe a little, I suppose, but, again, that’s not the problem.
Maybe this is a replay of “Where’s Waldo” only in Ivanka style.
1
I’ll skip the sarcasm, and I’m good at it. I just want to say, thanks for my morning laugh.
2
You know it's a good day when MSM is focused on something as insignificant as Ivanka Trump's travels. If Mr. Bruni thinks this is important enough to write about there must not be anything terrible going on in the world. Yeah, right.
3
She and her husband are iconic poster children for nepotism. Dad got them jobs, and the taxpayers pay their salaries and travel expenses....
5
Didn’t Hillary Clinton have a huge policy role when she was First Lady? I don’t remember her being elected to that position. Selective outrage isn’t very fair.
2
@Jake--Hillary Clinton was a graduate of Yale Law School. She was a congressional legal counsel and she worked for many years as a advocate for families and children. She co-founded a non-profit advocacy organization which encourages public policy in Arkansas that will benefit children and their families. She was the first female partner at The Rose Law firm in Little Rock, and she was one of only two female faculty members in the School of Law at the University of Arkansas. She served as First Lady of Arkansas and she led a task force whose recommendations helped reform Arkansas's public schools. I could go on, because her accomplishments are many.
In contrast, Ivanka worked at daddy's company and sold shoes and handbags.
I'd say the outrage is well deserved.
7
She was qualified.
1
@Jake
dude , there was outrage to the left , right and middle .
bigly
1
Expecting that to be the first question of the Presidential debates next year: "Where's Ivanka?"
“He has given them celebrity, fancy government titles, security clearances and entry into circles they’d never penetrate otherwise.”
If we could refrain from using the word “penetrate” in any sentence involving Trump, that’d be lovely.
5
Trump rolls her out because she's eye candy. The first man I heard say would vote for Ivanka for president, well, it was sickening. Trump likes good looking women around him. It makes him feel important. Yes, on the surface she's attractive. I don't know her, so can't speak to her values, but from what I have read about her, I am not impressed. She's the presidents daughter, nothing more. She doesn't belong in meetings with world leaders, but the optics (trump thinks) are better when she's in the photo.
3
That perpetual rictus is just beyond bizarre...
2
It’s easy to satirize Ivanka. Narcissists, New York City social elites, are prime targets for mockery. What is interesting, however, is what psychologically drives Ivanka.
How does Ivanka deal with her father’s lying, his lewdness, his lifelong pattern of philandering, his temper tantrums, his aggressiveness? What is it like to have a father who is despised, if not outright hated, by at least sixty million Americans?
When Ivanka was a child, did he lie to her as he lies to the American public? Did she know when he had “stepped out” on one of his wives and if she knew, what did this knowing do to her?
Childhood psychoanalysts John Bowlby and Erik Erikson have shown how a father's temperament affects the adult lives of their children. Boys and girls become attached to their parents. The parent’s psychological patterns are imprinted onto the child.
Erik Erikson, in “Young Man Luther: A Study in Psychoanalysis and History”, wrote: “Someday, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit; for such mutilation undercuts the life principle of trust, without which every human act, may it feel ever so good and seem ever so right is prone to perversion by destructive forms of conscientiousness.”
Dare we ask, could Ivanka’s spirit have been “mutilated?” Doesn’t early life with Trump come closer to explaining Ivanka than satire?
4
Perfect Frank. One of the best uses of Photoshop ever conceived. The other best use will be when we can Photoshop Donald out of our collective memories. In my case, I will replace him Mayberry’s Barney Fife, the perfect embodiment of incompetence and ignorance.
2
I have long thought that Samantha Bee never should have apologized.
3
As for Ivanka speaking with the presidents and prime ministers as if she were an equal, this would be acceptable in a social situation, such as a nibbles and drinks event at the White House, but it is highly improper in a working context. That she does not know this, or chose to ignore it, is yet another indicator of the lack of knowledge and experience Trump gifted to the White House.
Presidents speak to presidents, prime ministers to prime minsters, and "aides", even secretaries of state or foreign ministers, join the conversation WHEN THEY ARE INVITED. It is called protocol. However much one might feel equal to a president or prime minister, unless you are one, you are not. Period. They not only know things others do not, they have responsibilities which others do not carry. Those responsibilities set them apart from everyone else in government and they are generally treated accordingly, not necessarily out of respect for the person, but for the office they hold.
For Ivanka and husband and other hangers on, all the doors to power swing open automatically because daddy loves them and thinks they are the greatest people, next to him, the world has ever known. Thinking this and acting accordingly does not make it so.
12
I am so tired of my first thought being "When will this be over?!" every morning.
The problem with the Twitter photos is... she loves them. She and her dad think she should have been in all of those places. Ignore them, watch "1776" or binge-watch "The West Wing" or "Designated Survivor" tomorrow, vote him out of office as soon as possible.
36
I had more fun than a barrel of missionaries looking at the photoshiped pictures of Ivanka yesterday on tweets. There were two such pictures that were incredibly funny. First, there was the picture of Ivanka imposed on the painting of the Last Supper by Da Vinci. Later, I saw here in Michelangelo's picture on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome between God and Adam. Of course, she was not there, but she has this inane impulse to thrust herself into about every picture that she saw being taken. She is like her daddy who has to horn in on conversation in which he is taking no part.
9
No doubt she will use these photos in a run for office, to show her VAST experience on the international stage.
3
Entitlements -- something that Republicans wish to deny for poverty-stricken Americans on government assistance -- are absolutely fine for wealthy Republicans and members of the Trump autocracy. It's OK to deny poor people their sustenance while flying the President's daughter and her husband around the globe to attend meetings for which they have zero experience or knowledge to attend. It's all part of the embarrassment program Trump has put in place for America. What's next-- Baron running the Department of Defense? I thought we fought a Revolutionary War 250 years ago to rid ourselves of nepotism and other behaviors of a monarchy? Apparently not. Happy 4th of July!
36
If any white person still has no idea of what white entitlement means or what it looks like, here's Ivanka, cluelessly displaying the giddy presumption that she deserves to be exactly where she is and to recklessly mistake the gloss of bestowed privilege for merit. It's easy and even fun to scoff at her, but there are so many who must admit that they are in similar, though admittedly less exalted, circumstances.
3123
@S Jones
Right on!
Can't imagine a black African American Donald nor Ivanka Trump.
67
@S Jones -- say what?
7
Ok. My favorite comment so far. Love the word exalted!
74
Great column. Hubris is the word. Hubris abounds. I believe the Roman Empire had some of that, which led to their downfall.
19
My local paper was so depressing today: filled with photos of local protesters against migrant detention camps and a column about food insecure college students.
Then, I turn to your column. It was just what I needed. Thanks for the first Amendment and a Happy 4th of July to you!
16
This presidency is about promoting the Trump "brand" and nothing shows that more than his appointing his daughter and son-in-law to positions for which neither is qualified. Anyone who thinks that her self-interests aren't foremost in her mind when she inserts herself into these situations is very naive. The fact that Trump supporters are ok with this and see nothing wrong with it, shows just how many people having fallen prey to the reality show mentality and are are more impressed by glitz than substance. Never thought I'd live to see the day....
38
If Ivanka is truly promoting equality of women in the workplace, and she has so much influence with Donald Trump, why are there so few women in his Cabinet?
11
The tenants in my building have a long-running dispute with the landlord about some very serious matters.
Could someone get Ivanka to come up here (near Boston) to mediate and resolve this situation?
26
Just thank you, Frank Bruni. Thank you for adding your incisive voice to the (is it growing?) chorus declaring that, indeed, the Trumps' clothes, like themselves, are insubstantial. As the fiction becomes ever more apparent to the crowd, I expect to see them fall away as did the white suit worn by the Alec Guiness character in that movie "The Man in the White Suit."
20
Why doesn't Ivanka do something useful, like visit the border, bringing much needed supplies to children who haven't had hot meals or toothbrushes for weeks? That would be a much better use of her powerful celebrity. She could demand rights for the retained children and adults. As first daughter she would be listened to. As a mother she would have a proper place there. She could use her glamorous power for something really good, instead she choses to insert herself awkwardly where she has no experience or credentials.
43
@AACNY
Nice deflection, but the question was about Ivanka.
1
@EllenS- agreed. Princess Diana’s sincere good deeds for the most vulnerable come to mind. Her loving presence was a beacon of light. It was never about the optics but became one of the reasons she was so well-loved around the world. Ivanka would do well to walk the walk - perhaps it would boost her image - since that is what she cares about most (besides power). But I guess if you have never known love and humility (or humanity), you don't know how to give it.
2
@Ellen S.
I'm pretty happy with Jared Kushner's work on prison reform. That's more than our last president accomplished.
5
I am happy to say that my 27-year-old daughter does NOT admire Ivanka Trump, nor does she aspire to be like her.
I've made a lot of mistakes as a father, but at least I got THAT one right.
64
@Jack Connolly
I allow my kids to make their own decisions. I don't hope they'll reach the same as my own, but, instead, like to hear what they see differently. I certainly wouldn't herald that they think as I do but would consider it a failure on my part to instill independent and critical thinking.
1
@Jack Connolly
You did, indeed!
Mr Bruno, there are lines in this piece I will be quoting for decades. (with attribution, of course) Thank You.
27
Ivanka is just the latest shiny thing in the road to distract from the disaster that is her father. Maybe she'll twirl a few blazing batons in the parade tomorrow, in front of a couple of tanks. One can hope.
52
Cheesy, wreckless, dangerous arrogance and unqualified power; what could possibly go wrong? Let’s see where Ivanka shows up when a real crisis begins, like say daddy’s distraction war with Iran just before the elections.
30
Samantha Bee take on her was spot on.
25
Pulitzer, please, for Mr. Bruni for his many outstanding columns, but oh, especially this one. You nailed it, Frank! Thank you.
37
@Nancy
I ditto that !
1
There’s a common thread connecting Ivanka, the USC scandal and the Kardashian phenomenon.
32
Loved this dig: "It must have been wild, finding herself next to an egomaniacal autocrat like that. It must have been something to meet Kim Jong-un, too."
36
I hope someone is archiving Ivanka's Instagram account for posterity.
8
Check out the 60 Minutes interview of the Trump Family right after the election. Leslie Stahl has the whole family assembled and asks them their thoughts on Donald being elected president. Ivanka pipes up from the back row, "It's a great brand."
44
Dear Mr. Bruni,
I agree with the nepotism issue you raise, but I take issue with the tone. This opinion piece reads more like a troll piece than objective journalism. You could have easily spoken more eloquently on the issue of nepotism, and focused on how the current president, not his daughter, enables it. You could have educated us on what the constitution allows and does not allow unelected family of the president to do in public service, and discussed the historic precedents that might exist, and provide insight on what potentially horrid consequences we can have from nepotism at this level, not just the clumsy optics. But going after Ivanka in a Trump-like fashion (ah, the irony!) will only get blowback from the president and his base, and the real danger that nepotism poses to our democracy will be lost in the cacophony. These are troubled times, can the non-fake-news journalists please be a little more responsible? We cannot afford trolling pieces in the NYT, it undermines the objectivity of your journalism, and we need a lot of that right now,
7
@chicagogirl - This piece is satire. But I guess satire is dead? SNL has done satire for decades but I guess that is ”trolling,” too? Thank you, Frank Bruni, for a much-needed bit of levity in this heavy, depressing week of the news cycle. And for writing what most of us are thinking. And for giving an outlet to our frustration.
2
In the Roman Republic there was the cursus honorum, the circuit of offices that a noble man aspiring to public life would have to hold in sequence in order to ascend to the highest office, consul.
One of the signs of the breakdown of the republic is that ambitious men started either appointing their relatives and clients to offices they weren't ready to hold, or, increasingly, creating offices outside the circuit, dictatorships.
That's where we see Ivanka and Jared, wielding power that just a few years ago you would have had to earn via a sequence of elected offices or positions in government.
It's a bad sign, hopefully an aberration, but it's human nature that once one party or office holder breaks a norm, then the norm is gone.
23
I can't help but reminisce about Jethro Bodine roleplaying as a movie director and an international spy.
7
yes, she is a real piece of work...our revered leader must think very highly of her...for some reason
4
The eldest Trump daughter is the quintessential 'Ugly American' portrayed in Lederer/Burdick's 1958 political novel.
10
Frank Bruni, you are a brilliant word smith! Bravo.
18
And Trump gets away with Nepotism as well.......it is getting better everyday!
3
Mr Bruni! This column sounds like you feel envy of the Trumps. I disagree with you. I think that Ivanka, unlike many rich daughters has earned her place and has helped her dad a lot. She went to school and I´m sure pappa didn´t pay anyone to get her in as many have scandalously been discovered to have done. President Trump has taught all his children by taking them to work with him and I think thaye all have turned out nicely. How many rich kids do you know are just spoiled brats, useless adults that just live off their folks? The Trumps aren´t. They are a cool dinasty, even though many people don´t use the word cool any more.
5
Re unwanted Ivanka: I’m still waiting for the photo of her behind General Mac Arthur as he’s accepting the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay!
I’m assuming the reason for my wait is due to the fact that the persons behind unwanted Ivanka can’t decide if she should be standing behind Mac Arthur or with the Japanese!
12
@John - or Iwo Jima. I am sure someone did that already.
4
For a quick visual of the current American politics, replace “Where’s Waldo?” with “Where’s Ivanka?”
12
so you have a fake royal family !! Since when the sons or daughter s of a president have their say in running a government ? I thought they will have to go through a lot of screening, not only for security reason but for their ability to serve. Ivanka she was selling clothes , jewelry , thanks to her name, and people buying it with a sense of belong .
9
Don’t blame Ivanka, Jared and Trump Senior. Blame the Republicans for enabling the situation. Blame Pompeo and Bolton, not for their policies but for the indignities to their office. Why should they hang around and be insulted regularly. General Mattis and Rex Tillerson finally had enough of the Trump presidency and left with their reputations in tact. History will show how the people around Trump as well as the Republican Congress enabled all the craziness we’re seeing in this administration.
27
Oh, I suspect we can handle blaming the Trumps/Kushners and the Republicans at the same time. Ivanka’s not the only multitasker around here.
2
So much money, so little knowledge, and no shame
27
Tone-deaf, ridiculously vain and clueless, egomaniac Ivanka Trump and her equally clueless husband are truly shameless opportunists who believe that because they exist, they qualify for, and are entitled to, anything and everything. This is the monstrous result of having too much wealth and unfettered power. As unqualified, inexperienced and ignorant as they are, these two mean to grab and exploit that power for everything they can, including launching a Trump dynasty, if they can subvert the Constitution. And they will try. We the people better get wise.
As for Jared and Ivanka’s particular selves, I can’t think of a better statement thsn this: They were born on third base and thought they hit a triple.
26
Preach, Brother Bruni!
I'm still waiting for the opportunity to serenade the whole sordid gang with "Once upon a time you dressed so fine, you threw the bums a dime in your prime..."
But the joke's on us, America:
"Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at?
After he's taken everything he could steal"
9
Ivanka Trump is always looking for a photo op... Let's see her take a photo in the Migrant Detention Centers with children separated from their parents by Ivanka's father's executive policies.
18
Samantha Bee was right.
13
It's amazing how much attention is being lavished on such wretchedly vacuous individuals, it makes the skin crawl, what a waste.
14
Yeah, you have to be pretty shameless to be someone like Ivanka and Jared. Amazing creatures.
What happened to what supposedly good and expensive American education can do? Does it not teach dignity? Or genes are just too paramount.
Simply jerks these Trumps - all of them - of loins or of law, in expensive garb.
For perspective, I voted for Trump.
9
Sounds as though you’re regretting.
Taxpayer’s are footing the bill for these extravagant trump spawn freeloaders as they travel the world. Pretend diplomats? Hardly. Overindulged brats, definitely
10
Great article. Am going to follow the hashtag now. But don't ONLY blame the daughter for wanting publicity. Blame the dad for thinking his best option for deflection is Ivanka. Both Jarred and Ivanka are getting filthy rich with limelight. Jarred solving middle East peace..... Hahahaha.
My only rebutal to this article is that the Trumps' won't understand 90% of the substance, so next time.... Please "dumb it down" .
13
For the first time in my countercultural pinko life, I’m sorry there’s no longer a Social Register and the ability to shun and shame a family of grifters out of access to power. But!
Mr. Bruno, you did it with your pen!
For an encore, I’d love to see Maggie Smith’s dowager countess on Downton Abbey encounter Ivanka. Mme. Lagarde, eh, formidable, non? She came pretty close.
Time for Statecraft Barbie to drive her little plastic car back somewhere far, far away from our government.
13
Ivanka is one of Trump's alter egos. I think he wanted her to meet Kim because she will win his heart and contracts for development projects in N.K. when Kim, one day, opens up his country to real estate projects. It's always about business and the future of the Trump Organization.
8
Frank,would you like to run for President?
8
@Lord Snooty Sir. its not in the cards - he has too much class and intelligence.
1
Despite the humour and wit in this article and despite her gnawing and ghastly sense of entitlement, I think the treatment of IT here smacks of sexism.
4
Seriously? Read the article. Jared & Don Jr are equally as appalling.
2
@Edwina Wright
It's not sexism when it's directed against a republican woman. It's speaking truth to power or some other nonsense.
Why all the hate, Mr. Bruni? All the children of Presidents of the USA have had enormous privilege. Few have been Ivanka's age or have had the business relationship with their father that Ivanka has enjoyed. He obviously trusts her, so what is wrong with giving her responsibility? Children of Democrat Presidents have rarely faced such venom.
5
How many of those other presidential children held faux positions in the White House or tried to sit at the grownup's diplomatic table?
22
@samuel - Why all the defense and support? If you really think no other ”children” of Presidents have been vilified, research the hate directed toward Chelsea Clinton. Imagine Hillary had been elected and Ivanka was replaced by Chelsea. I doubt your defense would apply to her. Oh, and Ivanka isn't a child - she is a 37-year-old adult and puts herself out there willingly. I agree minor children are off-limits, but not calculating, grown offspring.
2
What a short memory you have. Was it not Amy Carter who received scorn and derision when her father (during a debate against Ronald Reagan)) mentioned asking her opinion about the most important issue facing the US 40 years ago? She said nuclear weapons, by the way.
2
This is exactly how the wealthiest act. Having worked in and around the super rich this makes perfect sense. Their belief that they are entitled to anything and everything because the "plebes" have been at their beckoned calls all of their life is so common. They believe the world revolves around them and their fancies. They think they are capable of things they aren't but because nobody ever told them NO!...they think nothing of walking into a conversation with world leaders who have honed skill sets they don't even realize they themselves don't have. It's the old "You don't know what you don't know" on steroids. Combine this with the biggest sense of "I can do whatever I want because my daddy is the self imposed dictator/king " and it's no wonder shes waltzing around wanting to play ambassador.
8
Hard choice, to be Ivanka or Marie Antoinette? They both like cake ? They both live the high life ? Choices, choices...
5
Our own little Eva Peron.
11
I'm surprised she didn't appear at the Demo presidential contenders debate to give everyone a hug & wish them well, hoping to induce a surge of bi-partisan inertia & fuzziness in viewers, draining them of any urge to engage in political discussion. You might call her a poll dancer.
4
Frank Bruni you are my hero. You’re the only one who can make me think and laugh at the same time, during this most pathetic moment for our country
11
Well I'm sure Governor Mike Huckabee's Daughter will have a thing or two to say about all these accusations of nepotism!
9
“If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.” - Dorothy Parker
17
Thank you for this article. Made me laugh when the subject is so not funny. Ivanka.....just go away. Jared...just go away. You are not fooling anyone. You have no qualifications for the roles you pretend to star in.
10
Please just vote them out and end this circus
14
Ivanka wants to run for President with Kim Kardashian. What? Why? Who?
4
Ivanka deserves the trash talk for putting herself into positions and into discussions she should not be be part of. It is that simple.
13
Yes she is an adult making those choices. Minor children (like poor Baron) are off limits.
Who's been footing the bill for the fam to go on all these junkets? How much has it all been costing?
As we learned from Mr. Sanders the value of Trump's tax cuts could have been used to wipe out student debt, I just wonder what more practical and beneficial cause could the family's travel costs have been used?
9
You should have used this photo.
https://content.fortune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/gettyimages-458769886-copy.jpg
I’m no fan of the Trump-Kushners, but this is junior-high level meanness and sass.
5
Trump is grooming Ivanka for a run.
4
Many examples of daughters going for, and winning office - Ghandi, Sukarno, Aung Sun Su Kyi
1
Steve Bannon called Ivanka "Dumb as a brick". I have not much respect from Mr Bannon but I assume he knew what he was talking about in this particular case.
14
The Dunning Kruger effect is shown in full swing in Trump world and the GOP for that matter. These people deserve the fall of all falls for what they have done to the country in service to themselves.
11
Never in the course of human endeavor has anyone so unqualified, managed to accomplish o little while making themselves look so foolish in such a short amount of time. She is kind of a polished up version of her father...inexperienced and clueless. They'll be gone soon enough.
14
Fresh from her gig at Buckingham Palace, Ivanka continues to stun the world with her self-congratulatory arrogance born of her assisted good looks and her rich daddy. Is narcissism genetic?
I tried to give Ivanka a chance. I really did. But when she published a book on how working women with children can have it all, she showed herself to be completely vacuous.
She told the ladies out in the hinterlands that success comes from meeting with your team regularly. Apparently, she thought everyone had a nanny, a maid, a driver etc. Ivanka proved that she is capable of googling inspirational quotes. But, that is about it.
23
I have found no reason to laugh over the past few years. But this article and the accompanying photos made me chuckle out loud! “ Pride goeth before the fall”!
11
Fantastic!!*
Thank you, Mr. Bruni.
10
The thing I find so dangerous about the Trumps is the shallowness with which they accept that some people don’t like them, and their willingness to brush it off as normal- acceptable, because others do like them.
If any of your Trumps are reading this, we don’t like you because you are hollow, ignorant and dangerous.
11
Well said!
It's hard to wait for the day when 24 hours can pass without a mention of this family of total ignoramuses. If we never heard the word "trump" again it would be too soon.
21
@Jean
Sadly, if you are a bridge player that word will never be gone.
1
This is a classic. First time in a long time that I laughed out loud reading about the Trumps. Yes, it’s an appalling situation. But thanks, Frank, for shining a light with some humor. I needed that.
9
'Ivanka and Jared typify the belief that altitude is achievement, that breaching a sanctum is as valid as earning a place there and that faking it is indeed making it. Call yourself a peacemaker and — abracadabra — you’re a peacemaker. Play the part of a diplomat with enough élan and people will eventually take you for one'.
Mr. Bruni, on the strength of that, you are unlikely to be taken for a diplomat. You have discovered the phenomenon of typifying beliefs that I have not heard asserted and that seem very unlikely to be held by anyone.
Perhaps there is support for the notion that business, even politics, should be separate from family. Ivanka seems to have taken as her job to be the President's daughter. By her own lights, she probably believes she is doing her best to do so in good faith.
Whether this has been a strategic move on the part of the President, I do not know. Dangling her out there an obvious target for snide haters only strengthens his base and renders his opposition less credible.
Think at least twice, or at least some moves ahead. Your opponents do.
2
Very sad to see a man who fought for gay rights and acceptance writing a column like this, dripping with sarcasm.
I do not know Ivanka Trump, and I say that to mean I do not know her heart. Because, from what she has done, I have no reason to quarrel with where she has been or whom she has seen. I generally find that someone’s heart is loosely attached to their actions, due to a lack of courage, conviction, integrity or self-awareness. So I withhold judgment.
Ivanka is a woman who graduated Wharton and ran a business. I suppose what you are saying is that she benefits from some form of “platinum-encrusted”, White, Female privilege. I find it fascinating seeing the tortuous ways that the Left disqualifies so many accomplished women due to their party affiliation. Happily, Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel escaped the grip of their dogmatic feminists, proving that the Left is probably not the best screening tool for electing a woman to lead their nation.
What I most read in your column is deep Envy. It is not for nothing considered a Cardinal Sin, and it lies at the heart of the Left’s deep attachment with Socialism, as Orwell first asserted.
You should take a long look at Ivanka’s perfect teeth. Because the Leftist media is doing everything in its power to re-elect her father.
And try to explain to a ten year old girl who is ambitious, smart, and attractive just what is wrong with her version of growing up to be a woman.
Apparently the Left has all the answers.
8
Comparing Ivanka to Angela Merkel? Now that's funny.
12
Why did you mention attractive? It’s called nepotism and it’s disgraceful. You don’t need to defend every act Trump and Fox takes.
9
@Billy Bobby
You're right. And the next time to work to get a kid a job or make a call to a friend on behalf of a family member, it's nepotism.
I was misled, I suppose, by Frank's obvious sarcasm:
"Oh, to be Ivanka! The clothes, the kids, the teeth, the entitlement. She goes everywhere because she belongs everywhere — that confidence is in her platinum-encrusted genes — and because there’s no corner of the world or cranny of existence that isn’t enhanced by her presence."
I guess you read only nepotism into that description.
1
Maybe they can superimpose her in “I’ve written a letter to Daddy.” Let the irony and grotesque visuals be revealed, as it says much about this relationship, both publicly and privately.
5
Ivanka brings new meaning to Bring Your Daughter to Work Day.
13
Exactly on target. Perfectly articulated!
5
At last! We have our royal family, and Ivank will no doubt dispose of any siblings who stand between her and the throne. A tragicomedy heretofore thought impossible, yet an aware citizen must attend as we are "living in interesting times", with history unfolding one absurd tweet dropping after another. King Don (or is it Don Trumpleone?) has brought new meaning to "The Fool on the Hill" (and I used to love that song so much). Life - go figure.
5
Brilliant, Mr. Bruni. What a delightful essay to read... Unless you happen to be "Ivanks" and her beau. One of for the ages. Give the man an opinion Pulitzer right here, folks.
24
Even Kim Jong Un's sister, unlike Ivanka, knows to recede into the relative background in photographs with her brother. Then again, Sister Un probably also realizes that to do otherwise would result in her being permanently receded into the underground.
Mike Pence, also one to know his place, has taken the adoring if silent "Nancy Reagan gaze" to new heights when pictured with Donald Trump, knowing full well that he can only aspire to Ivanka's myriad roles, lest Pence find himself relegated to the obscurity of Dan Quayle.
Not so with Ivanka, who cherishes and, apparently, aggressively insinuates herself into any opportunity to play the role of Beauty to her father's Beast.
How I long for the days of First Daughter Amy Carter, who was content to silently, if seemingly sullenly, bury her face in a book when the cameras caught her reluctantly dining with her presidential father. Then again, her cringeworthy Uncle Billy provided more than enough fodder to distract the nation's attention.
Perhaps Mike Pence's suddenly and publicly being called back to Washington yesterday for an emergency was so that he and Mommy could stand in as the traveling Secretary of Status Ivanka's proxies in order to host a visiting badminton team at the White House.
Like Ivanka, Pence had his chance to gather his own headlines, giving new meaning to getting nothing but net.
11
Well said!
1
It takes a true egomaniac to "know" that his beautiful flesh-and-blood is superior to any diplomatic expert available. Who needs experts and advisors when the greatest genius to ever exist has a protege? Thanks, Frank, for the laughs. Too bad this is reality and not reality TV...
19
I have no issue with Ivanka Trump appearing on the world stage. The problem, as I see it, is that because she has never really worked a day in her life, she has no real world experience and does not understand either hierarchy or boundaries. Thus, the extremely gauche exchange she had with Theresa May and Christine Lagarde, during which she came across as a teenager.
Ivanka leaves the impression that she is the antithesis of gravitas. That may not be correct, but until she develops some real experience, she might be better off not speaking extemporaneously.
11
@Frank J Haydn
This is so true. Neither she nor her father nor her husband has ever had a job. They have no idea what it's like to work for someone else's profit. They've never had to support themselves. They have, as you said, no real world experience.
This is the one thing about Trump's base that I truly cannot wrap my head around. Why in the world do they believe that this pack of gilded trust fund babies would have their backs? Let's not forget that Trump himself is essentially a trust fund baby, having been supported by his father's money all of his life.
2
It’s not that Ivanka is vapid arm candy in the halls of power. It’s that she is Trump’s representative without any expert support. It demeans America and takes us out of the conversation with the grown-ups.
19
West Wing had a memorable episode where there was an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal brokered by Mary McCormack as a deputy national security adviser, who was sent in to negotiate "because the Chairman liked her." It was ridiculous then, but eerily prescient in foreshadowing Ivanka and Jared playing politics. Except that I'm pretty sure no one likes them.
10
Thank you so much for cracking me up this AM.
14
Thank you Mr. Bruni. One of your best pieces!
19
President Ivanka. Trump's insurance policy. Once Ivanka is President, she can pardon Daddy, and no one would be able to do anything about. Ivanka/Jared 2024. The thought has crossed Trump's vile little mind more than once.
19
She certainly looks like she's enjoying herself, and having fun!
3
When he so predictably trots her out, with lines like "Beauty/Beast,"it (literally) fleshes out the impression Trump is running a reality show/beauty contest. And given the way he has all too often spoken about her in the past, and her natural vapidity, it's all very creepy.
31
Her repulsive sense of entitlement is an attitude shared by many people of inherited wealth. She's not unique in that. Neither is she unique in pursuing a strategy of "faking it 'til you make it." Unlike entitlement, faking it 'til you make it, is an honorable pathway for many legitimately successful people.
But something else is going on with Ivanka.
Given how she was taught by her father and given the example he set by actually becoming President, it's a better bet that Ivanka is more of a faking it and keep faking it 'til the clock runs out kind of gal.
16
Ivanka is just one of the acts in the tragic-comic Trump saga! I predict that a new word will be coined to describe tacky, clueless behavior-it will be “trumpy”!
13
That video clip is priceless. The body language of those in conversation just says it all. How embarrassing.
25
She doesn’t design handbags. She plagiarized the designs and then made them in China.
23
You gave her exactly the treatment she deserves Frank. Thank you.
19
That clip of her with Macron, May, Lagarde and Trudeau was brief yet so telling. She's the child who has been told everything she does is terrific and perfect and she's brilliant and consequently doesn't understand her limits. She sounds like a 9th grader trying to stretch out an answer on a subject about which she knows nothing and isn't even relevant.
35
My thoughts exactly. Thanks for organizing them and putting them into words.
9
As @US Central notes below, Ivanke is probably preparing for a run at the White House herself.
And tragically, her chances look extremely good. Because she seems perfectly to fit the recent mold of Republican US presidents, who haven't exactly been the cleverest or most qualified. Consider the past half-century:
Trump: no explanation needed.
But we tend to forget that before Trump, W was an absolute laughing-stock, clearly unqualified and considered a national embarrassment. Just like Ivanka, his main qualification was being his father's son. Americans coming to Europe would open conversations by apologizing for him, and saying that they hadn't voted for him.
And before W, there was Reagan.
People these days look at Reagan through rose-coloured glasses. In reality, he was scarily clueless.
The truth is best summed up by a long skit on Saturday Night Live in which the only joke was the idea that Reagan was actually competent. If a young person today who wasn't around during the Reagan years were to watch that, they would be waiting for the joke.
Reagan was followed by GHW Bush - himself an exception to the rule perhaps, but maybe he only seemed smart in comparison to his vice-president, the unforgettable Dan Quayle.
Of course, before Reagan there was that fine president, Nixon ... (briefly replaced by his VP after he was forced to resign).
Does anyone look at that list and not realise that Ivanka has every likelihood to become the next Republican president??
24
Trump: "I'm only going to hire good people."
6
Your article hits the nail on the head. I would only add that the lack of introspection and self-awareness, of humility and acknowledgement of ignorance/lack of expertise by Ivanka and Jared is breathtaking. A sign of intelligence is acknowledging what you don't know -- these two feel it necessary to act as if they know everything. I guess that the father Trump's disdain for experts who don't share his opinion-- whether they be scientists, lawyers, doctors, whatever - puts the belief in the minds of these two that they can do anything experts can do and better.
31
Authoritarian rulers often like women to soften their image, and reflect their narcissism even while taking women's rights from them. Ivanka's omnipresence is about product placement, her own, and part of the Trumps to promote and enrich their family interests. She is the product's placement and no one else knows why she keeps appearing, signalling virtue about female empowerment while her father diminishes them. In the absence of Melania (enforced or by choice?) Ivanka reflects the importance of the clan and familial connections over expertise and qualifications in this bizarre White House, unaccountable as she converses with bemused world leaders. She would also like to run for the presidency in 2024 with Jared as her running mate. Don't rule it out.
23
@Tom. Best comment.
1
Terrific piece! Loved every well-written word! Thanks! Keep telling it like it is with wit, humor and truth!
17
The fastest, smartest and simplest way to get to this clueless family of grifters is to mock them. Mock them for their appalling ignorance. Mock them for their crassness. Mock them for their lack of any class. Mock them for their lack of style. Mock them endlessly. Every minute of the day, mock them for their lies. Their racism. Their bigotry. Their hypocrisy. That is the only thing that appears to hurt them. If only the Media would adopt these simple lessons. Thank you, Frank. Hopefully, this is a start.
3
Given that she hasn't been elected to anything, this simple assessment ushers her as the odd-one-out on the busy G20 world stage, with Ivanka frettingly budding her way among a chorus of experienced diplomats.
Apart from being D.Trump's daughter, she lacks the mandatory credentials either allowing or entitling her to gain access, therefore, play an active part in such high-stakes proceedings.
Meanwhile, and that's particularly salient on the short vid featuring her cringing short-lived interaction with world leaders (May, Lagarde, Macron, Trudeau...) where she pops in yet fails to bring nothing particularly relevant to the matter at hand, to say the least.
The behavior on display there, for what it's worth, typifies more a sanguine interloper throwing sand into the gears of a productive table-talk rather than really help get the ball rolling.
Besides, one thing seems in the cards now. The lifting up of the large curtain for Ivanka could be the prelude further paving the way to help her down the line run as the first female president of the US, once her father's tenure has run its full course. Just because she's in the president family inner circle and follows him around, that's supposed to carry tremendous clout then seal her future on the political arena. Not sure, voters will be so feather-headed to buy that version.
13
"I briefly wondered what value she was adding"
The answer is pretty clear: Ivanka gave evidence to the North-Korean people that their country's nepotism is shared by the USA. The North-Korean propaganda will for sure exploit the great opportunity it has been so generously given.
33
Bravo Frank, you made my day!
20