Ivanka, Eric Trump take to TV to clarify Donald Trump's views on sexual harassment

Eric and Ivanka Trump talk sexual harassment at work

(Image credit: CBS/Fox News)

last updated 3 August 2016

In an interview on Monday, Donald Trump said that if his eldest daughter, Ivanka, were subjected to sexual harassment at work, "I would like to think she would find another career or find another company." The question was prompted by the sexual harassment allegations that forced Roger Ailes out at Fox News, and Trump's answer wasn't widely seen as a realistic solution for most women in the workforce. So in interviews on Tuesday, Ivanka and her brother, Eric Trump, faced follow-up questions.

Eric Trump was first, on CBS This Morning. After a string of questions about Donald Trump's attacks on the family of Capt. Humayun Khan, a Muslim American who was killed in the line of duty in Iraq — a story Eric Trump said "was blown hugely out of proportion" — Charlie Rose asked Trump about his father's response to sexual harassment in the workplace. "There is no question that should obviously be addressed, and should be addressed strongly," he said, continuing:

Hey listen, we all run a company, my father runs a company, we take this — that is absolutely a no-go anywhere, and that's very much the case. I think what [Donald Trump] was saying is Ivanka is a strong, powerful woman — she wouldn't allow herself to be objected to it, and, by the way, you should certainly take it up with human resources, and I think she definitely would, as a strong person. At the same time, I don't think she would allow herself to be subjected to that, and I think that's a point he was making, and I think he did so well. [Eric Trump, on CBS]

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On Fox News Tuesday night, Ivanka gave her own response, telling Greta Van Susteren that "sexual harassment is inexcusable in any setting. I think harassment in general, sexual or otherwise, is totally inexcusable. If it transpires, it needs to be reported, and it needs to be dealt with on a company level. We have a very strong HR team at the Trump Organization who is equipped to deal with these issues if they ever arise, and you hope they never arise. You hope you have a culture in which they never arise, but when they do, it needs to be dealt with swiftly."

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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.

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