Ivanka Trump Still Considers Chelsea Clinton a 'Good Friend'
On the eve of Donald J. Trump's inauguration, Deborah Roberts of ABC's 20/20 sat down with the President-elect's three oldest children-Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Jr.-to talk the road that lies ahead.
Here's what we learned from the special, "America's New First Family: The Trumps Go to Washington."
Ivanka will not take on the duties of First Lady.
Melania Trump's decision to stay in New York with her son Barron while he completes the school year coupled with the fact that Ivanka is in the process of moving her family to D.C. has fed speculation that Donald Trump's older daughter intends to take on some of the duties traditionally performed by the First Lady. Ivanka responded to the rumors during the program, "There is one First Lady, and Melania will be an unbelievable first lady. I'm incredibly proud of her. She is intelligent, warm, caring; she's a remarkable person." Clarifying what she plans to do now that she's stepped down from her executive position at the Trump Organization, Ivanka said, "Today my focus is really just moving to Washington traveling around the country and listening and getting great feedback on how I can add positive value." And when Roberts pressed her on whether or not she would have an office in the White House, Ivanka pivoted saying that she was still figuring out her role. It's a life change she's still trying to explain to her kids.
"I tell them that their grandfather is going to Washington, D.C. with the goal of helping as many people as he possibly can and their father and I want to contribute to that in any way that we are able."
She finally responded to the the man who harassed her while she was with her family on an airplane.
"I think it's never okay to harass anyone regardless of what your viewpoints are, especially when you're with children," she said, addressing the confrontation that took place on a JetBlue flight in late December. "But you know, I think that this is a new world, and I'm adjusting."
Ivanka says Chelsea Clinton is still a "good friend" following the election.
"She's a very good friend of mine. She's been a friend of mine long before the campaign, through the campaign...and will be a friend of mine after," Ivanka said when asked about her relationship with Chelsea Clinton the daughter of her father's former rival Hillary cClinton, and whether it withstood the often nasty presidential campaign. "I haven't spoken about the specific challenges about this next chapter with her just yet, but I intend to," she said.
Donald Trump's inaugural address will focus on "unity" and on "optimism."
Donald Trump has reportedly written his own speech for the inauguration, and during the 20/20 special, Ivanka shared a preview of its contents. "He has been working on it extensively. It's excellent, and he's still refining it. Just like his speech on election night, it will focus on unity on optimism on the future," said Ivanka. "It's not overly long, and it's not too short."
The Trump family secret service code names likely all being with "m."
Traditionally, all the secret service nicknames of the first family begin with the same letter. The 20/20 special revealed that Donald Jr.'s moniker will be "mountaineer," while his Eric's will be "marksman," apt names considering the brothers' affinity for hunting exotic game. One can only assume what security titles are in store for Ivanka, Melania, Barron, Tiffany, and the President-elect himself.
Speaking of Eric and Don Jr., Trump's older sons continue to say that the President-elect will not be involved in his businesses.
When asked about the suspicion some ethics experts have about the arrangement, and whether or not Trump is attempting to profit from the presidency, Eric said, "It's interesting that you use the word suspicion because that's all it is. We've taken extraordinary, extraordinary, measures to make sure that the two were separate and distinct."
He also said, "My father has the biggest responsibility of any person arguably on the planet. His focus is going to be running this country. And my focus is gonna be running a great company."
Donald Jr. shared his thoughts on how this plan was his father's only course of action, that selling off all of his assets would have also proven problematic: "When you think of a multi-billion dollar company, it would take years to do it right. Half the buyers if you're going to try and maximize value, which obviously makes sense, would be from other countries," he said. "Then they'd beg the question of, well, is that person paying a premium to later curry favor with you? There's no win in this."
Where was Baron?
Despite his conspicuous absence from the Make America Great Again! Celebration on Thursday, Trump's youngest son, Barron, is reportedly "very excited" about everything that is going on.
"Melania has been unbelievable in terms of how she's been adjusting him to the changes that will be occurring in his own life," Ivanka explained. "He is very excited."
[contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Stories" customtitles="What%20the%20Mood%20is%20Like%20in%20D.C.%20Right%20Now%7CEverything%20We%20Know%20About%20Trump's%20Inauguration%7CAll%20About%20Donald%20Trump's%20Sons" customimages="||" content="article.9268|article.8738|gallery.2296"]
You Might Also Like
