So blessed to have hit the jackpot of friends!” Kim Kardashian gushed about her 43rd birthday celebration in Los Angeles on Instagram last month. “I couldn’t have ever dreamed I would be so lucky to call these girls my friends.” Among her pals was Ivanka Trump in a sequined crop top, thigh-split skirt and Christian Louboutin heels, marking her triumphant return to the celebrity A-list.
Look no further for why Ivanka, 42, was so desperate to avoid testifying in a New York courtroom this week in her father’s civil fraud trial. Her rehabilitation in society was at stake. Ivanka’s combative, politically active brother Don jr, 45, and the more business-oriented Eric, 39, had preceded her in court, while her father Donald, 77, was forced to take the stand on Monday. The whole family was on display in all its pomp and infamy.
At risk was the future of the Trump Organisation’s right to operate in New York, as well as the prospect of a whopping $250 million (£204 million) fine. Trump and his two adult sons stand accused of fraudulently inflating the firm’s assets to acquire favourable terms for loans (while low-balling the taxpayer) on everything from Trump’s gilded resort at Mar-a-Lago in Florida to his golf courses from Miami to Aberdeen. The judge, Arthur Engoron, has already determined their guilt: what remains to be decided is the punishment. Ivanka, who evaded charges on the grounds that she left the family business for the White House in 2017, was nevertheless dragged into the mire as a witness.
When Trump appeared in court on Monday, he was buoyed by a poll in the New York Times showing him significantly ahead of Joe Biden in five key swing states in the 2024 presidential race, with respondents citing concerns about Biden’s age and the economy. Trump seized the occasion to make his case in the court of public opinion, berating Justice Engoron for being “very hostile” — while the judge rebuked his lawyers for failing to control him. Outside the courtroom, Trump blasted Letitia James, the New York attorney general. “This is a political witch hunt, and I think she should be ashamed of herself,” he raged.
Don Jr, a Trump mini-me popular with the ultra-Right base of the Republican party, adopted a genial manner on the stand, airily suggesting that figures were for accountants to worry about, and that he couldn’t recall any details — even when presented with evidence showing he was involved in financial decisions. Younger sibling Eric was more testy, feeling his reputation as a businessman was at stake, but suffered similar lapses in memory.
Ivanka made the best of her enforced appearance, after trying every excuse to wriggle out, including claiming “undue hardship” because the trial was in the middle of a school week (as if she had no husband or nanny to help). She turned up in a blue Carolina Herrera coat, Jimmy Choo shoes, dark suit and white shirt, with the blow-dried locks of a Charlie’s Angels star, and spoke in a polite, subdued voice to the jury. The judge joked, “Who is she?”, half in awe, as she was called to the stand.
She also couldn’t recall much about the property deals she was involved in, but said she saw no reason to dispute the accuracy of the evidence presented.
The mother-of-three and ex-White House aide has witnessed several of her father’s closest associates suffer ridicule, go broke or go to jail, while he powers through every trial and tribulation unscathed — at least for now. Ivanka is determined not to be a loser, like so many in Trump’s orbit.
At the same time as her court appearance, Republicans across the US were ruing their losses in Tuesday’s state and regional elections. Later that night, Trump’s no-hope rivals for the presidential nomination were throwing pointless darts at each other in a debate in Miami, while down the road Trump himself was revelling in the adulation at a rally.
New York attorney general James was determined to throw as much mud as possible at Ivanka, hoping some would stick. “Miss Trump will do all she can to separate herself… but she is inextricably tied to the Trump Organisation,” James declared outside the Manhattan court. “You cannot hide from the truth.”
But Ivanka is very skilled at turning the spotlight on and off when she wants — just like Trump’s wife Melania, who has not been seen for dust anywhere near a court all year. Hiding is exactly what Ivanka and husband Jared Kushner did rather successfully when Trump lost the presidency in 2020. After Trump appalled East and West coast society by banging on about the election being rigged and provoking a riot at the Capitol, they fled to Miami to lick their wounds. By the time Trump announced he was running again for president in 2024, Ivanka made it clear she was out — at least for now. “I love my father very much. This time around, I am choosing to prioritise my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics,” she said in a careful statement.
Happily for Ivanka, famous people are famously forgiving where money is concerned. The Kushners went on to accumulate enough loot of their own via Jared’s private equity firm to appear pleasingly independent of Trump. This has eased their re-emergence in society. And, as luck would have it, Ivanka and Jared are not the only members of the super-rich to have sought refuge in Florida. A few days ago, Jeff Bezos, the world’s third wealthiest man and founder of Amazon, announced he and fiancée Lauren Sánchez would be leaving Seattle for Miami. It so happens they are settling in Indian Creek, the exclusive enclave where the Kushners live. Sánchez, by the way, was one of the friends featured with Ivanka on Instagram at Kardashian’s party.
There remains the matter of how to cope with Trump should he retake the White House in November 2024. In the event, Ivanka and Jared would probably seek to benefit indirectly from their proximity to power rather than rejoin his administration. First, however, Trump has to win — and the past few days have sent out conflicting signals about the strength of his campaign. As the saying goes: “Polls don’t vote.” On Tuesday, Democrats outperformed expectations in a series of state and regional elections. And in Ohio, voters enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution — confirming the unpopularity of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The Republicans under Trump, critics noted, have been on an uninterrupted losing streak in key national and regional elections since 2018. Ivanka will also have spotted this trend, but knows how unwise it is to write her father off. Only Trump is showman enough to persuade his chaotic base to turn out at the polls, while Democrats tend to appeal to more civic-minded voters. Commenting on the results, conservative talk show host Erick Erickson pointed out: “The hilarious irony is that Donald Trump, on the ballot, can probably motivate more people to turn out than a candidate running wrapped in Trump’s banner. But Trump also alienates suburban voters and drives up Democrat intensity.”
Can’t live with Trump, can’t live without him. The Republican party shares Ivanka’s dilemma. By this time next year, so might the rest of America.
