Ivanka Trump skips her father's 2024 campaign launch despite reported pleading from Trump


Former President Donald Trump officially launched his 2024 presidential comeback bid on Wednesday before a crowd of about 1,000 guests at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, but only two of his children — Eric and Barron — attended the event, the New York Post reports. Daughter Tiffany is presumably on her honeymoon, having gotten married at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, while Don Jr. "was unable to make it back from a hunting trip out West in time for the spectacle due to his scheduled flight being scrapped."
Ivanka Trump, a presidential adviser during Trump's four years in the White House, issued a statement before the speech saying she's done with politics. "While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena," she said on Instagram. "This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family," she added. "I do not plan to be involved in politics."
Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, also a senior adviser in Trump's White House, moved to Miami after Trump lost his reelection bid. "We will continue to support my father — as his kids," Ivanka said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ivanka's absence Tuesday night is notable because "Trump spent part of daughter Tiffany's lavish Mar-a-Lago wedding" over the weekend "begging" Ivanka and Jared "to be with him on stage when he announces his third consecutive run for the presidency," the Post reported Monday, citing sources.
"Trump thought he could convince Ivanka this weekend to come back and campaign for him ... but so far she's resisting his entreaties and holding firm, as is Jared," one insider told the Post. "They both feel they got burned in Washington and don't want to go back and expose themselves and their children to another bitter campaign." The couple's resistance to Trump's pleading created "extra behind-the-scenes tension" at the wedding, the source added.
If Trump couldn't "persuade Jared and Ivanka to present a united Trump family front to the watching world," the Post reported, he was likely to give his speech alone on the stage. And he did. But while Ivanka skipped the campaign launch, "Kushner and Kimberly Guilfoyle attended to show their support," Fox News reports. Don Jr., Eric, and Eric's wife, Lara Trump, are said to be all-in on Trump's third presidential run.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Trump is trying to jump-start US manufacturing. Is it worth it?
Today's Big Question The jobs are good. The workers may not be there.
-
TV to watch in June, including 'Stick' and 'Ironheart'
the week recommends The next great sports comedy, a young Marvel heroine and the conclusion of 'Squid Game'
-
Book reviews: 'Melting Point: Family, Memory, and the Search for a Promised Land' and 'No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson'
Feature A promised land in Texas and the takedown of a healthcare giant
-
Deportations: Miller's threat to the courts
Feature The Trump administration is considering suspending habeas corpus to speed up deportations without due process
-
Asylum: Only white Afrikaners need apply
Feature Trump welcomes white Afrikaner farmers while shutting down the asylum program for non-white refugees
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Law: The battle over birthright citizenship
Feature Trump shifts his focus to nationwide injunctions after federal judges block his attempt to end birthright citizenship
-
The threat to the NIH
Feature The Trump administration plans drastic cuts to medical research. What are the ramifications?
-
Courts try to check administration on deportations
Feature The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to end protected status for Venezuelans, but blocks deportations under the Alien Enemies Act
-
House GOP pushes ahead on deficit-boosting tax bill
Feature Republicans push a bill that will lock in Trump's tax cuts, cut Medicaid and add trillions to the national debt
-
'Gen Z has been priced out of a future, so we invest in the present'
instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day