Included in Trump’s passable impression of a competent president Tuesday night were a few lines that sounded familiar to anyone who’s been paying attention to his daughter.
“My administration wants to work with members in both parties to make child care accessible and affordable, to help ensure new parents have paid family leave, to invest in women’s health, and to promote clean air and clear water, and to rebuild our military and our infrastructure,” Trump said. “True love for our people requires us to … cooperate on behalf of every American child who deserves a brighter future.”
According to Axios, a senior administration official confirmed that parts of Trump’s speech sounded like Ivanka for good reason: Ivanka helped write them. “A week ago, Ivanka and Dina Powell met with the president on those parts of the speech with [Stephen] Miller and Hope [Hicks], and talked about those issues and how they would resonate in an important way,” the official said. She reportedly worked with Miller on Tuesday afternoon to get the paragraph just right.
This is far from the first time Ivanka has used her status as her dad’s favorite to push for issues she cares about. She and Powell are reportedly lobbying hard for a child-care deduction to be included in Trump’s tax plan; she spearheaded a meeting with Justin Trudeau to “address barriers facing female entrepreneurs”; and she stood right behind the presidential desk when her dad signed two laws to encourage women to enter STEM fields.
It’s not uncommon, when Trump tempers his stance on an issue, for a subsequent leak to reveal that Ivanka and her husband are behind it — whether or not anyone buys their carefully crafted moderate image is another story.