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Ivanka Trump 'wants to lower expectations about what she can do in the White House'

'Either Ivanka is ineffective in her advocacy within the building, or her voice doesn't matter', one critic says 

Narjas Zatat
Monday 31 July 2017 10:28 BST
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Ivanka Trump: 'I leave the politics to other people'

Ivanka Trump does not possess as much influence over decisions made by her father as critics believe, aides have said.

Allies claim she “desperately wants to lower her expectations of what she can achieve” in the White House.

Donald Trump's daughter had met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for lunch in New York earlier this week to discuss women’s economic empowerment. However, despite her conversations and meetings with several foreign powers, her influence in the White House is on unsteady ground, aides told Politico.

The admission follows the US President’s latest decision to ban transgender people from serving in the military, despite his daughter’s previous public expression of support for the LGBTQ society.

Last month she had tweeted: “I am proud to support my LGBTQ friends and the LGBTQ Americans who have made immense contributions to our society and economy.”

However Donald Trump's subsequent tweet surprised her.

His tweet read: "After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the US Military."

According to people close to both Ivanka and her husband, senior adviser Jared Kushner, the duo appear to be aware of criticism levelled against them.

Discussing the criticism in an interview with The Fox and Friends TV show in June, she said: “There’s a level of viciousness I was not expecting. I was not expecting to the intensity of this experience.

“Some of the distractions and some of the ferocity, I was a little blind-sided by on a personal level.”

Sarah McBride, national press secretary for the not-for-profit Human Rights Coalition told Politico: “Actions speak louder than words. Either Ivanka is ineffective in her advocacy within the building, or her voice doesn’t matter to the President as much as she hopes it does.”

The President’s daughter is reportedly focusing her attention on topics where she and her husband have had some success.

The duo prevented Donald Trump from signing an Executive Order which would have pulled back current protections of LGBTQ rights in the workplace.

Ivanka will be directing her efforts on passing child care tax credit in Congress, as well as a push for paid family leave to be included in the new budget plan.

Additionally, she has also signalled her intention to push for ending human trafficking, and in June held a roundtable meeting attended by both Democrats and Republicans, in which a key topic of discussion was how to end the practice.

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