To Understand Trump, You Need to Understand Ivanka
This post was originally published in RVZIONNE.COM
At this stage, we may either still be confused in as to how Donald Trump became the 45th president of the United States or in a celebratory mode now that the highest office in the land (if not the world) is finally given to someone who is not a politician.
Nonetheless, with Trump’s approval ratings falling, more and more (yes, even those who voted for him) are now having an epiphany of the mistake who is Donald Trump.
Yes, Trump’s administration is unorthodox and his platform is somewhat radical. But, the Americans, or at least the Electoral College, have decided they needed a change — and that change includes Ivanka Trump as well.
Ivanka Trump has played a big part on Trump’s campaign. For those who were undecided at the time, Ivanka served as the gap between Trump’s ballistic comments and the first daughter’s reasonable approach.
Ivanka was the working mom, the one who had “the heart,” the one you can talk to when Donald Trump does not seem to be relatable to the public.
But this is where we are all wrong.
WHY IS IVANKA IN THE WHITE HOUSE?
If you have not seen it, The Apprentice is the public platform you can investigate to understand the goings of Trump’s administration. In the show, you can almost admire Trump in his vast knowledge of the corporate world. It is because of this show that most people who voted for him trusted his guts and his knowledge.
Many people think if Trump can run multiple multi-million dollar companies locally and internationally, then he is someone we can listen to.
But, most of them missed that one crucial thing:
“Donald Trump is a businessman and not a politician. ”
This one main point has been the pivotal change for the 45th U.S. Presidency because there is a reason why politics and business are both placed on separate umbrella under the law.
Trump, owning privately held companies, do not necessarily “manage” these businesses. If you watched his show, you would know that the key to his success is knowing how to “leverage.”
Leverage in business means the ability to use an asset, a person, a product or a service, to empower your operations. Leveraging works in sales, marketing and leadership. Trump has trusted advisers that work for him and does the manual labor for him. When someone is at the top position as Trump, you should understand that the most crucial aspect of his job is firing and hiring people he can leverage. That is basically what The Apprentice is all about — there is a conflict at hand, how do you solve it?
This is where Ivanka comes in. Until now, Ivanka does not have a definitive title in the White House. Some argue that the media has been unfair to her because if it was Chelsea Clinton, she wouldn’t be as scrutinized as Ivanka attending meetings with world leaders.
However, Ivanka has been the only first daughter to ever be this involved in high-level and mostly classified meetings with international parties. Still, Ivanka gets a pass.
Why?
It’s because Ivanka is Trump’s biggest and strongest leverage. It’s not Steve Bannon or Sean Spicer. It’s Ivanka.
Ivanka is the face and front-liner of Trump’s entire organization, whether it be in the private sector or the White House. Ivanka knows what her father wants to happen and it’s to always win.
We have to understand that his is their business model. This is what Ivanka Trump has known all her life. At the same time, Ivanka Trump is privy of the men Donald Trump associates with and as the world (or the other half of those who did not vote him) thinks are a group of conservative misogynists who are fueled on self-gain.
But, can you blame them? Can you blame Ivanka?
To win and succeed in business, you need to win. It does not matter if the other end is black or Mexican or Chinese. Race doesn’t matter. Sex does not account. The end goal is to get as much profit as you can; to negotiate and get the higher end of the deal. That is why even Ivanka Trump’s hypocrisy can be sensed not too far from her own company. Having her own fashion line that sells handbags for at least $500 each, Ivanka has a factory running in China.
This is the mechanism, the tandem that both of them had hoped to continue in the White House. Even Jared Kushner is involved in backdoor access.
However, this is also the biggest miscalculation both of them did.
IVANKA AND HER EVER-TRYING FRONT
Many people held onto Ivanka during the campaign simply because they hated Hilary Clinton. They believed her to be the sane voice behind Donald Trump. They saw and related to Ivanka.
But, just like her father, Ivanka plays to win. She is in the business of winning and gaining. She knows how to market her brand successfully and how to respond to people with empathy and stab them in the back. Ivanka is smart and calculating. That is probably why she is her father’s favorite, maybe even more than the First Lady.
As the year progresses, Ivanka has been pushed more and more to the back as Donald Trump becomes even more uncontrollable. Maybe, at some point, Ivanka also thought she could have a dominating influence on her father. But, just like in their business hierarchy, she will still be lower than him, only doing damage control and being the beautiful, relatable face for the public.
Ivanka may have the intelligence, the empathy and gusto to become a successful politician, but in Trump’s White House, she is failing.
“You’re fired!”
Both of them are failing simply because they also failed to understand what politics is all about and what it entails.
If in business, you make a bad deal, you can simply fire the manager who made the deal or cancel the contract. In business, you can renegotiate the terms and win. As the boss, you can enforce policies and employees would simply have to follow just because if they don’t you have lawyers to protect you and they don’t get to have jobs.
In politics, the public has a say to every single thing. There are critics and ethics laws to monitor those who are in power. That is because leading in public service should be a privilege. This is awarded to those who have gained the public’s trust. That is why we entrust them billions and billions of dollars to manage the entire nation.
However, just like what Spider-Man’s uncle said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Both Ivanka and Donald thought that since they have succeeded in the private sector, they can also lead in the public sector. But, ultimately, this is where they are wrong.
“In the world of politics, you serve the people, the people do not serve you. ”
