Ivanka Says Trump Conviction Was ‘Painful’ for Unclear Reasons

Photo: Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images

Ivanka Trump has been distancing herself from her father throughout his 2024 campaign. The former First Daughter and White House adviser skipped Donald Trump’s November 2022 campaign announcement, declaring on Instagram, “I do not plan to be involved in politics.” Over the next two years, Ivanka was rarely seen with him in public or even on social media.

But now that things have started looking very up for her father, Ivanka has suddenly reemerged.

During a July 2 appearance on Lex Fridman Podcast, Ivanka revealed that she plans to attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee later this month but reiterated that she will not join a potential second Trump administration, citing her children as the reason.

“Politics is a rough, rough business, and I think it’s one that you also can’t dabble in,” she said. “I think you have to either be all in or all out. And I know today the cost they would pay for me being all in emotionally, in terms of my absence at such a formative point in their life. And I’m not willing to make them bear that cost. I served for four years and feel so privileged to have done it, but as their mom, I think it’s really important that I do what’s right for them. And I think there are a lot of ways you can serve.”

She continued, “I also think for politics, it’s a pretty dark world. There’s a lot of darkness, a lot of negativity, and it’s just really at odds with what feels good for me as a human being. And it’s a really rough business. So for me and my family, it feels right to not participate.”

Ivanka also discussed her father’s recent conviction — though she managed to say almost nothing. Fridman asked Ivanka what it’s been like watching her father go through “legal turmoil.”

“Well, on a human level, it’s my father. And I love him very much, so it’s painful to experience. But ultimately I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

Fridman seemed to find it remarkable that Ivanka led with “I love my father.” But that’s essentially all she’s said about him throughout his legal ordeal. When Trump was first indicted in the hush-money case in March 2023, Ivanka posted this impressively vague statement on Instagram Stories:

Ivanka’s brothers Don Jr. and Eric frequently defended their father throughout his trial, and even Tiffany made an appearance in court. But Ivanka remained silent until a few hours after her father’s conviction, when she posted a childhood photo with the caption, “I love you dad” and an emoji heart.

Reports that Ivanka has now “broken her silence” on Trump’s conviction may be a bit overstated. She’s told us multiple times that she still loves her father (though it seems she’d rather not be seen with him). And what does “ultimately, I wish it didn’t have to be this way” really mean? She wishes her father didn’t have to cheat on his wives, then pay off porn stars? She wishes that Biden’s crooked prosecutors didn’t have to wage “lawfare” against her father? It’s unclear!

Though, of course, it’s hard to miss Ivanka’s broader message. Despite serving in the Trump administration for four years, she’d like to go back to receiving the perks of being the president’s daughter — like sitting for flattering interviews and having his PAC cover her legal fees — without being associated with the “darkness” of Trump’s actual political operation.