News

This Is How Trump Insiders Want Ivanka To Campaign This Fall

by Molly Longman
Win McNamee/Getty Images News/Getty Images

President Donald Trump and his campaign associates have plans for the first daughter. White House aides are in talks to have Ivanka Trump campaign for her dad in blue states and suburban areas, according to a report from The Washington Post. Ivanka — who’s said in the past that she affiliates as an Independent — may be the most direct, appealing, and accessible line to women and progressives that Trump has at his finger tips.

According to The Washington Post report, aides want to send the eldest Trump daughter out into suburban districts to talk about the workforce and the economy, this time around the campaign trail. Of all of the Trump clan, Ivanka Trump is the most friendly to “blue issues,” which is why they reportedly believe she'll be a strong asset in the run-up to the midterm elections.

During the presidential campaign, Vanity Fair called Ivanka "both a bandage and an asset," citing her more commercial, stable appeal. Now, she's back at it again appealing to voters across the country. On Wednesday, she spoke at an event in Illinois — which is generally considered a blue state — with Republican Rep. Rodney Davis, The Washington Post reported.

Alex Wong/Getty Images News/Getty Images

As a less extreme and somewhat more predictable actor than her father, Trump has been seen as an asset when it comes to campaigning for the Republican party as it stands under this administration. Elissa Strauss at Slate wrote in November 2016 about how Trump’s seemingly feminist approach helped her father’s campaign. The publication basically pegged Ivanka as a foil for her father, who has a noted history of making sexist and otherwise problematic remarks. Essentially, Ivanka is a singular figure that almost backs up the president’s 2016 debate statement: “Nobody has more respect for women than I do.”

The 36-year-old Trump has focused on ideas such as paid family leave and coined the hashtag "WomenWhoWork" to promote her lifestyle company and book of the same name. In another interview last week with Axios, she said that the family separation going on at the border as a result of Trump's "zero-tolerance policy" was a “low point” for her. This sentiment seemed to sing to a tune more liberal voters could hum along to.

Although Ivanka is taking a middle-ground role in more liberal states and cities, Trump is ramping up his tweets and boisterous comments at rallies in redder states. On Wednesday, the president tweeted that his role on the campaign trail would be a major booster for Republican candidates.

“As long as I campaign and/or support Senate and House candidates (within reason), they will win! I LOVE the people, & they certainly seem to like the job I’m doing," President Trump tweeted. "If I find the time, in between China, Iran, the Economy and much more, which I must, we will have a giant Red Wave!”

As campaign strategists send Ivanka and Donald Trump out on the campaign trail with vastly different approaches, only time, polls, and, eventually, elections results will tell if the campaign planning makes a difference.