Ivanka Trump campaigned for her father Donald Trump when he ran for President in 2016, was named a senior advisor in her President Trump’s first administration, and campaigned for him in 2020, too, when he lost his bid for re-election to Joe Biden.
But Ms. Trump did not prominently campaign for her father during the 2024 election cycle. Nor did she appear at any of his court hearings, where her brothers Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump made their presence known.
[NOTE: Ms. Trump and her husband, fellow former White House advisor Jared Kushner, reappeared by her father’s side after he won the 2024 presidential election. She spent election night at Mar-a-Lago and joined the President-elect when he rang the opening bell on Wall Street in December.]
Now, days leading up to the inauguration, Ms. Trump announced on X: “I look forward to watching my father take the oath of office again” and that she’s “excited to celebrate this historic milestone alongside him once more.”
I look forward to watching my father take the oath of office again as the 47th President of the United States. I am proud of his unwavering strength and resilience and am excited to celebrate this historic milestone alongside him once more. pic.twitter.com/vh1G74KBr8
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) January 16, 2025
With the photos above and below, Ms. Trump is reminiscing about times she shared with her family in the White House, writing that “lighting Shabbat candles with Jared in the Lincoln Bedroom on Inauguration Day, watching Theodore crawl for the first time in the White House State Dining Room, and seeing Arabella sneak through the secret door of the Resolute Desk are memories I will cherish forever.”
As the Inauguration approaches, I find myself filled with gratitude as I reflect on special moments with my father and family from eight years ago, when we first stepped off Air Force One upon arriving in Washington, D.C. pic.twitter.com/uhAmaqUzfK
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) January 16, 2025
So why isn’t Ivanka Trump returning to the White House for her father’s second administration? On the Him & Her podcast, the mother of three said, “I know the cost and it’s a price I’m not willing to make my kids bear.”
Witnessing my father become the 45th President of the United States, lighting Shabbat candles with Jared in the Lincoln Bedroom on Inauguration Day, watching Theodore crawl for the first time in the White House State Dining Room, and seeing Arabella sneak through the secret door… pic.twitter.com/1KncJ5QX8A
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) January 16, 2025
She added, “There is another element for me. I love policy and impact — I hate politics. And unfortunately the two are not separable. You know, there is a darkness to that world that I don’t really want to welcome into mine to some degree.” She added, “It’s a very dark negative business.”
Why @IvankaTrump made the decision to not serve this time around… Thoughts?
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@laurynbosstick @MichaelBosstick pic.twitter.com/AOKUwihomw
— HIM & HER SHOW (@tscpod) January 13, 2025
Responses are predictably divided. Fans of Trump are praising her for “putting her family first” while others are more cynical, noting that “she and Jared got $2 billion from the Saudis, she doesn’t need to go back.”