Ivanka Trump has publicly said she’s putting her father’s polarizing MAGA politics behind her to live her best life — which presumably means surrounding herself with her rich and famous new besties, Kim Kardashian and Lauren Sanchez, at Kardashian’s 43rd birthday party.
But recent reports offer a different picture of Ivanka Trump’s true intentions with regard to Donald Trump’s effort to return to the White House. According to a May report by Puck, the strategically minded former first daughter, whom “Saturday Night Live” labeled “complicit,” is “warming” to the idea of helping her criminally convicted father’s campaign, and she may even consider accepting another job in his administration if he beats Joe Biden in November.
Such reports therefore also raise questions about the thinking of Kardashian and Sanchez, who is engaged to world’s richest man Jeff Bezos, and joined him for a state dinner at Joe Biden’s White House.
Like Ivanka Trump, Kardashian and Sanchez are known for ambitiously curating and promoting their personal brands. So, it’s curious why they’d be happy to publicly exercise a form of female-power bonding with Ivanka Trump, as Page Six reported.
Sure, Ivanka Trump avoided her father’s criminal trial in Manhattan and didn’t jump to his defense when he was convicted last week of 34 felony counts, related to hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. After Trump’s conviction, veteran political writer Jill Filipovic noted in the Daily Beast that Ivanka Trump offered the smallest show of daughterly support — that she could probably get away with — by broadcasting the message, “I love you dad,” in an Instagram Story.
But Filipovic also wrote that Ivanka Trump “transparently desires power and influence,” which lends credence to reports in Puck that she’d consider returning to politics and a role in her father’s campaign if he has a shot at winning.
Puck writer Tara Palmeri reported that the former first daughter is said to be “quietly surveying members of her inner circle about when it might make sense to re-engage with the campaign—and even whether to take a job in the administration if Trump wins.”
Meanwhile, the images of Ivanka Trump at Kardashian’s birthday bash in October, revealed on “The Kardashians,” certainly suggest that she has been welcomed into the Kardashian family’s inner circle, which also includes Sanchez.
As Page Six reported, footage of Kardashian’s birthday party at Beverly Hills hotspot Funke reveals just how close she’s become with both Ivanka Trump and Lauren Sánchez. Kardashian seated Sanchez two seats down from Ivanka, with herself in the middle.
“It makes me feel so good that everyone wanted to come out and celebrate and have dinner with us,” Kardashian is heard saying as she greets other guests.
“But honestly, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my friends,” Kardashian said. “Like I have the best friends and they’re super supportive. I think that’s probably why I’ve never seen a therapist, is because I have the best friends in the entire world, and they mean everything to me.”
Kardashian’s association with Ivanka Trump goes back at least to when she talked about being an aspiring lawyer and worked on behalf of prison reform during former President Trump’s administration. She used her connections with Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner to successfully lobby Trump to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old grandmother and nonviolent drug offender who had been serving a life sentence. Kardashian enjoyed a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office in 2018.
Since Kardashian’s birthday, the reality TV star and Skims shapewear founder has celebrated her friendship with Ivanka Trump in various ways. Among other things, the women wore coordinated black gowns to hit the opening of the new luxury Fountainebleau resort in Las Vegas.
But for many, Ivanka Trump is still associated with her father’s controversial time in the White House. As his loyal daughter and senior adviser, the once popular New York City socialite and fashion brand entrepreneur suffered a stunning fall from grace. “Saturday Night Live,” of course, staged a skit starring Scarlett Johansson that labeled her “complicit,” and longtime friends shunned her. Following Trump’s defeat in 2020, a former friend of Ivanka and Jared told Vanity Fair they likely wouldn’t be accepted back into some of the exclusive New York City social circles they once navigated.
Because Ivanka Trump cares about being socially accepted, she realized she couldn’t “be the Trumpiest of Trumps and also be perceived as sophisticated and admirable,”Filipovic said. So, she issued a statement in November 2022, saying she was done with politics after her father launched his third run for president.
But in November 2022, Trump was at a low point politically, Palmeri wrote. Now, it’s five months before the 2024 election. Trump is the Republican nominee and still enjoys strong support within his party, despite his recent conviction. Filopivic said: “If Trump manages to eke out of a victory in 2024, his eldest daughter may very well smell opportunity, and find herself offering her dad much more than just a nostalgic Instagram (post).”
Meanwhile, Kardashian and other members of her family also have developed a friendship with Sanchez, a former Los Angeles TV news personality and helicopter pilot, Page Six said. The Kardashians have been spotted hanging out with Sanchez and her family on multiple occasions, including in September when the Kardashians and Jenners attended Beyonce’s concert in Los Angeles with Sanchez and Bezos.