Ivanka Trump: I’m Not Going to Be First Lady

Image by Getty Images

By Daniel J. Solomon January 20, 2017

Ivanka Trump stepped up for her stepmother in a Thursday interview, saying that Melania Trump, not her would be the first lady in both name and deed.

“I think it’s an inappropriate observation. There’s one first lady, and she’ll do remarkable things,” Ivanka Trump said on ABC’s 20/20, responding to a question about she and Melania Trump’s roles in the new White House.

Pundits have speculated since her father’s November victory that Ivanka Trump might function as de-facto first lady under her father, pointing to her role as campaign surrogate and main adviser. She and husband Jared Kushner have decamped to Washington, D.C. to help the administration, with him working as a West Wing aide.

Melania Trump, who avoided the campaign trail, intends to maintain her primary residence at Trump Tower in New York, citing her desire for son Barron to finish out the school year before moving.

But don’t expect Ivanka Trump to remain in the background. She might be a key force on pet issues like family leave and climate change. “It’s emotional that I’m stepping away from my business, and my father will be president,” she told ABC. “Hopefully I can be there to support him and to support those causes I’ve cared about my whole professional career.”

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO