UPDATE, 1/14/21, 8:36am ET: Ivanka Trump will not be attending Joe Biden‘s inauguration on January 20, according to a White House official who spoke with People. “Nor was she ever expected to,” they added.
ORIGINAL: Apparently, Ivanka Trump can’t read the room. President Donald Trump‘s eldest daughter, who serves as one of his advisors, thinks that she’ll still one day be able to follow in her father’s footsteps and launch her own White House run. Ivanka, 39, who called the insurrectionists at Capitol Hill “patriots” on Twitter (since deleted), still believes she has a “promising political career,” according to a report from Daily Mail. Her way of salvaging it? Attending President-elect Joe Biden‘s inauguration on January 20.
Yes, the same inauguration that her father vowed to skip after months of whining that the election was stolen through baseless accusations of voter fraud. But after the president encouraged his supporters on January 6 to act against Democratic leaders who were certifying Biden’s electoral votes, Ivanka is “doing whatever she can to save her reputation,” according to a source who spoke with outlet. Despite her father allegedly grumbling that attending the inauguration would damage her relationship with his fanbase, Ivanka’s looking toward a non-MAGA future.
The first daughter, who serves as President Trump’s unofficial advisor and one of his closest confidants, allegedly believes that attending the inauguration will make her come across as “being a good support,” which would ultimately “gain her future supporters.” Still, that would mean Ivanka would have any supporters after four years of her father’s failed presidency.
While Ivanka has attempted to paint herself as a separate entity from her father, she’s a complicit member of his administration who has stuck by his side through all of his worst and unconscionable decisions, including the DC siege. President Trump had just spoken to an enraged crowd of his supporters and commanded them to march to the Capitol in his name. They overthrew the Capitol, busting through barriers, beating Capitol Police officers with pipes, smearing feces on the walls, and causing a joint session of Congress to evacuate to safety.
Five people died in the siege, and President Trump merely told the rioters that they were “very special” and “loved.” He was banned from his favorite social medium, Twitter, and suspended from others for inciting violence through his posts. After tweeting and deleting that the pro-Trump insurgents were “patriots,” Ivanka attempted to do damage control.
“Peaceful protest is patriotic. Violence is unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms,” she tweeted on January 6. The White House has not announced if Ivanka will be attending Biden’s inauguration on January 20 — or if she’s even invited. Vice President Mike Pence, who was in the Capitol overseeing Biden’s vote count during the insurrection, has confirmed that he will attend.