Ivanka's Reason For Ditching Trump Campaign Speaks Volumes About Donald's Priorities With Barron
Ivanka Trump has opened up about why she isn't joining Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, and it may reveal her opinion of her dad's parenting.
Ivanka was an advisor to the president while Donald was in office. However, in November 2022, she revealed she wouldn't be involved in his next campaign. "This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics," she wrote on Instagram, per Newsweek. Now, Ivanka has shared why she believes her participation in politics could harm her kids, and her revelation doesn't paint Donald's parenting of his youngest child, Barron Trump, in a flattering light.
On July 2, 2024, Ivanka visited the Lex Fridman Podcast and discussed her choice to step away from politics. "It was a decision rooted in me being a parent, really thinking about what they need from me now," she explained. Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, have three children together: Arabella Kushner, born in 2011; Joseph Kushner, born in 2013; and Theodore Kushner, born in 2016. When Donald became president in 2016, Barron was 10 years old. Ivanka's kids would be around that age during his potential second term, which seemingly influenced her choice to leave politics. "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," she explained.
Ivanka's opinion about parenting may suggest that Donald wasn't around for Barron
Seeing firsthand how having a parent in the White House affected Barron Trump may have inspired Ivanka Trump's career change. When it comes to her own kids, Ivanka told Lex Fridman, "I'm not willing to make them bear that cost. ... As their mom, I think it's really important that I do what's right for them." She also said that she didn't want to make the commitment it would require. "Politics is a rough, rough business, and I think it's one that you also can't dabble in. I think you have to either be all in or all out," she said.
It's noteworthy that, unlike Ivanka does, Donald never seemed to prioritize his own youngest son over his political ambitions. This may add more fuel to the fire of rumors about Donald's less-than-ideal relationship with Barron. While Donald's other three children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Tiffany Trump, all joined him in court during his criminal fraud trial, Ivanka and Barron never did.
The 18-year-old Barron also declined the offer to make his own foray into politics; in May, he turned down the opportunity to be a delegate at the Republican National Convention. Now that Barron is old enough to make many of his own decisions, he seems to be steering clear of the political world, which doesn't bode too well for his experience growing up in it. Based on this, Ivanka may be making the right choice for her own kids.