august 5–18, 2019 | new york 29
history with an official office and a portfolio in the West Wing, but
that seemed to be about all she had—a blonde, elegant presence
ra ther opposed to the character of the gangster who had stolen the
presidency. Her relative impotence was a media joke, as story after
story reported that Jared and Ivanka deeply opposed this or that
noxious policy or statement only to lose out. The couple seemed to
be incompetent at navigating the White House and equally desper-
ate for the world to regard them as sympathetic forces by having
their representatives leak such stories again and again.
Yet, over time, almost everybody in the White House but Jared
and Iv anka has disappeared—Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, Gary
Cohn, even four-star Marine general John Kelly, who was expressly
meant to rein in the power of Iv anka and others but ultimately
became the victim of their machinations. And even if one still
couldn’t point to anything “Javanka” had accomplished on major
policy issues, aside from the increasingly bipartisan issue of prison
reform, one had to reckon with the fact that, in a White House
snake pit where power, not policy, was the coin of the realm, they
had seemed to ... sort of win.
Of course, the point of politics is to actually make change,
and while Jared did seem to be actively shifting the balance of
power in the Middle East, Ivanka’s game has been harder to parse.
She’d made the White House her power base, but it was one with
a vacuum at its center. She wasn’t engaging deeply on domestic
policy or the 2020 reelection campaign. She flew above the storm,
deftly or through sheer luck not jeopardizing her own liberty, while
her older brother, father, and husband all faced significant investi-
gations over Russian interference, potentially presenting her with
the ultimate Abrahamic test as she picked sides among them—and
then they all got away with it, at least for now.
But this summer Iv anka transformed into someone entirely alien
and new. She’s a frum Donatella Versace, her platinum hair parted
severely down the middle, clad in increasingly conservative floor-
length dresses, with an uncanny-valley beauty that’s the inverse of
her father’s slack meat sack, and speaking in the ever-huskier whis-
per of a phone-sex operator who went to boarding school. Five years
ago, you might have guessed her future was to be the next generation
of the Trump dynasty—more polished, more presentable, speaking
in full sentences and declining to serve McDonald’s at dinner parties.
Maybe she wouldn’t be selling real estate, but she’d still be the newface of one of New York’s great families, maybe even an aristocrat in
her own right. That was what she’d been raised to be, the shiny hood
ornament of the Trumps. As her mother once told author Dominick
Dunne, “In 50 years, Donald and I will be considered old money like
the Vanderbilts.”
These days, in her role as ambassador for Trumpism and rela-
tively silent witness to family separation at the border, Ivanka has
instead incinerated everything about her reputation that once insu-
lated her from accusations of complicity with her father. She seems
like she may be building a new life for herself with a whole new
base—abroad, where cities change their contours for her before a
visit, as Hyderabad did by moving the beggars on her motorcade’s
path into shelters. Wherever she appears, a media scrum of pho-
tographers follows, pushing and shoving like she’s a Kardashian at
a Starbucks. At home, as for a reality star, a glam squad arrives in
the morning at her D.C. mansion. “If you go to Ivanka’s for break-
fast, the whole family is all perfectly dressed, even the kids. I don’t
think there’s another family like that in the United States,” says
someone who was present.
Long perceived by maga die-hards as a shifty liberal, Ivanka is
now mostly beloved on the right, where she polls better than her
father in the critical states of the industrial Midwest, leading to
speculation on mid-tier news sites that she might replace Mike
Pence on the 2020 ticket and to fans’ dreams about Ivanka 2024. In
the meantime, conservatives of many stripes are bowing at her feet.
“There have been many very brilliant women in world history:
Angela Merkel, Maggie Thatcher, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth I, Cath-
erine the Great,” George H.W. Bush adviser Doug Wead explains in
an email. “And there have been many very beautiful women. But in
my humble opinion, you can only count on one hand those consid-
ered by history to be both brilliant and beautiful. Cleopatra? Drusilla,
sister of Caligula? Diane de Poitiers? Not many. But Ivanka Trump
would be in that mix.”
This is an astounding turn of events for those who knew her in
New York, many of whom thought they’d had her number since
she threw all in with her father’s business in her 20s, or at least since
she married in 2009. She was the flashy shiksa daughter of a celeb-
rity showman in Manhattan, and Jared was the buttoned-down
Orthodox Jewish real-estate heir from New Jersey, which sounds
SOURCE PHOTOGRAPH, PREVIOUS SPREAD: MAX MUMBY/INDIGO/GETTY IMAGES. PHOTOGRAPHS, THIS PAGE, THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTIlike a rom-com plot and seemed, at least at first, like a way for IvankaON VIA
GETTY IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES (1991); SHUTTERSTOCK (1997); RON GALELLA/RON GALELLA COLLECTION VIA GETTY IMAGES (2002).
PHOTOGRAPHS: FOC KAN/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES (2006); DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/VF15/WIREIMAGE/GETTY
IMAGES (2015); THE ASAHI SHIMBUN VIA GETTY IMAGES (2019)2006 2015 JUNE 2019
With Paris Hilton at the
release party for Hilton’s
single “Stars Are Blind.”With husband Jared and Mayor Mike. At the G20, incongruously.Y ___ DD ___ AD ___ PD ___ EICTRANSMITTED________ COPY ___ DD ___ AD ___ PD ___ EIC1619FEA_Ivanka_lay [Print]_35541681.indd 29 8/2/19 5:50 PMaugust5–18, 2019 | newyork 29history withanofficialofficeanda portfoliointheWestWing,but
thatseemedtobeaboutallshehad—ablonde,elegantpresence
ra theropposedtothecharacterofthegangsterwhohadstolenthe
presidency. Herrelativeimpotencewasa mediajoke, asstoryafter
story reportedthat JaredandIvankadeeplyopposedthisorthat
noxiouspolicy orstatementonlytoloseout.Thecoupleseemedto
beincompetentat navigatingtheWhiteHouseandequallydesper-
atefortheworldtoregardthemassympatheticforcesbyhaving
theirrepresentativesleaksuchstoriesagainandagain.
Yet, overtime,almost everybodyintheWhiteHousebutJared
andIv ankahasdisappeared—SteveBannon,ReincePriebus,Gary
Cohn,evenfour-starMarinegeneralJohnKelly, whowasexpressly
meanttoreininthepowerofIv ankaandothersbutultimately
becamethevictimoftheirmachinations.Andevenif onestill
couldn’t pointtoanything“Javanka”hadaccomplishedonmajor
policyissues,asidefromtheincreasinglybipartisanissueofprison
reform,onehadtoreckonwiththefact that, ina WhiteHouse
snakepitwherepower, notpolicy, wasthecoinoftherealm,they
hadseemedto...sortofwin.
Ofcourse,thepointofpoliticsistoactuallymake change,
and whileJareddidseemtobeactivelyshiftingthebalanceof
powerintheMiddleEast, Ivanka’sgamehasbeenhardertoparse.
She’d madetheWhiteHouseherpowerbase,butit wasonewith
a vacuumat itscenter. Shewasn’t engagingdeeplyondomestic
policyorthe 2020 reelectioncampaign.Sheflewabovethestorm,
deftlyorthroughsheerlucknotjeopardizingherownliberty,while
herolderbrother,father,andhusbandallfacedsignificantinvesti-
gationsoverRussianinterference,potentiallypresentingherwith
theultimateAbrahamictest asshepickedsidesamongthem—and
thentheyallgotawaywithit,at least fornow.
ButthissummerIv ankatransformedintosomeoneentirelyalien
andnew. She’s afrumDonatellaVersace,herplatinumhairparted
severelydownthemiddle,cladinincreasinglyconservativefloor-
lengthdresses,withanuncanny-valleybeauty that’stheinverseof
herfather’s slackmeat sack,andspeakingintheever-huskierwhis-
perof a phone-sexoperatorwhowenttoboardingschool.Fiveyears
ago,youmighthaveguessedherfuturewasto bethenext generation
oftheTrumpdynasty—morepolished,morepresentable,speaking
in fullsentencesanddecliningto serveMcDonald’sat dinnerparties.
Maybeshewouldn’t besellingrealestate,butshe’d stillbethenewfaceofoneofNew York’sgreat families,maybeevenanaristocratin
herownright.That waswhat she’d beenraisedtobe,theshiny hood
ornamentof theTrumps.As hermotheroncetoldauthorDominick
Dunne,“In 50 years,DonaldandI willbeconsideredoldmoney like
theVanderbilts.”
Thesedays,inherroleasambassadorfor Trumpismandrela-
tivelysilentwitnesstofamilyseparationat theborder, Ivankahas
insteadincineratedeverythingaboutherreputation that once insu-
latedherfromaccusationsofcomplicity withher father. She seems
likeshemay bebuildinga newlifeforherself with a whole new
base—abroad,wherecitieschangetheircontours for her before a
visit,asHyderabaddidbymovingthebeggarson her motorcade’s
path into shelters. Wherever she appears, a media scrum of pho-
tographers follows, pushing and shoving like she’s a Kardashian at
a Starbucks. At home, as for a reality star, a glam squad arrives in
the morning at her D.C. mansion. “If you go to Ivanka’s for break-
fast, the whole family is all perfectly dressed, even the kids. I don’t
think there’s another family like that in the United States,” says
someone who was present.
Long perceived by maga die-hards as a shifty liberal, Ivanka is
now mostly beloved on the right, where she polls better than her
father in the critical states of the industrial Midwest, leading to
speculation on mid-tier news sites that she might replace Mike
Pence on the 2020 ticket and to fans’ dreams about Ivanka 2024. In
the meantime, conservatives of many stripes are bowing at her feet.
“There have been many very brilliant women in world history:
Angela Merkel, Maggie Thatcher, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth I, Cath-
erine the Great,” George H.W. Bush adviser Doug Wead explains in
an email. “And there have been many very beautiful women. But in
my humble opinion, you can only count on one hand those consid-
ered by history to be both brilliant and beautiful. Cleopatra? Drusilla,
sister of Caligula? Diane de Poitiers? Not many. But Ivanka Trump
would be in that mix.”
This is an astounding turn of events for those who knew her in
New York, many of whom thought they’d had her number since
she threw all in with her father’s business in her 20s, or at least since
she married in 2009. She was the flashy shiksa daughter of a celeb-
rity showman in Manhattan, and Jared was the buttoned-down
Orthodox Jewish real-estate heir from New Jersey, which sounds
PHOT like a rom-com plot and seemed, at least at first, like a way for Ivanka
OGRAPHS: FOC KAN/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES (2006); DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/VF15/WIREIMAGE/GETTY
IMAGES (2015); THE ASAHI SHIMBUN VIA GETTY IMAGES (2019)2006 2015 JUNE 2019
With Paris Hilton at the
release party for Hilton’s
single “Stars Are Blind.”With husband Jared and Mayor Mike. At the G20, incongruously.