Many people have taken issue with the fact that First Daughter Ivanka Trump has benefitted from her family background, particularly after she publicly stated in February that she believes Americans “want to work for what they get” instead of being guaranteed jobs. But she seemed to take recent criticism in stride at a white-tie gathering on Saturday night, joking that “the hardest job in the world” is being Donald Trump’s daughter.
According to The Washington Post, Ivanka cracked this joke (and several others) after her dad asked her to represent him at the annual Gridiron dinner on Saturday night, which is attended by politicians and elite journalists in the country.
“The press seems to think it’s ironic that I, born of great privilege, think people want to work for what they are given,” she said. “As if being Donald Trump’s daughter isn’t the hardest job in the world.”
The comment was an obvious reference to the spar she recently got into with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s. It all started when Ivanka appeared on Fox News and discussed Ocasio-Cortez’s ambitious Green New Deal proposal. Ocasio-Cortez has said that the deal will guarantee jobs for all Americans, but Ivanka made it clear that she’s skeptical.
“I don’t think most Americans, in their heart, want to be given something,” Ivanka said on Fox. “I’ve spent a lot of time traveling around this country over the last four years. People want to work for what they get.”
Ocasio-Cortez quickly took issue with Ivanka’s point of view, particularly because Ivanka has been afforded some undeniable privileges as a member of theTrump family.
“As a person who actually worked for tips & hourly wages in my life, instead of having to learn about it 2nd-hand, I can tell you that most people want to be paid enough to live,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in Twitter.
A debate subsequently unfolded on Twitter in the following days, but Ivanka didn’t seem phased by any of it when she spoke on Saturday. At one point, she said that because her father had asked her to show up at the last minute, she hadn’t been able to prepare more jokes.
“I figured the funniest thing I could do is read you excerpts from the Green New Deal,” she said, again referencing the AOC idea that got her in hot water to begin with.
Ivanka’s little comedy bit might not sit well with supporters of the proposal—but it’s safe to say controversy is nothing the First Daughter isn’t used to by now.
