Speak Up, Ivanka. We Can't Hear Your Bullsh*t In The Back

Ivanka Trump tries to convince us that her silence isn’t actually silence

In her first televised interview since her official position in the White House was announced, it became really clear that Ivanka Trump is getting sick of defending herself against critics. In an interview with CBS News this week, Gayle King pressed Ivanka about her critics; namely the ones who are frustrated with her silence.

“I would say not to conflate lack of public denouncement with silence,” Trump said.

Okay, so her silence isn’t actually silence. She just publicly refuses to stand for anything. Got it.

King then asked “You also talk about the critics, and you have a couple that say, ‘Why isn’t Ivanka speaking out? Where is she on Planned Parenthood? Where is she on gay rights? Where is she on the rights of women? Where is she on climate change?’ And it’s, like, you’re being held personally accountable for not speaking up. What do you say to your critics?”

Yeah, where are you on these issues, Ivanka? How can you hold a political position without once making it clear what your politics are?

“I think there are multiple ways to have your voice heard. In some cases, it’s through protest and it’s through going on the nightly news and talking about or denouncing every issue on which you disagree with,” Ivanka said. “Other times it is quietly and directly and candidly. So where I disagree with my father, he knows it.”

So, is your quiet and candid voice telling him that rolling back workplace protections for women is a horrible idea, or do you agree with that? Do you understand companies that contract with the federal government are no longer required to provide any kind of proof that they pay women the same as men for the same jobs? How do you feel about that? And if your father knows, why can’t we?

What about the fact that there’s now no ban on forced arbitration in sexual harassment cases? Does it feel pretty good to know your dad just rolled back protections for sexual harassment victims at work?

How do you feel about his signing that executive order days before Equal Pay Day — which highlights the wage disparity between men and women? Did you have a good chuckle about the irony of that, together — or were you as upset as the rest of us?

When pressed on her position on certain issues, she again skirted King’s questions. “I think that for me this isn’t about promoting my viewpoints,” she said, adding that she didn’t believe it would make her “a more effective advocate to constantly articulate every issue publicly where I disagree.”

Well, as the current executive order has proven, you’re not an “effective advocate” anyway.

When King asked if Ivanka thought she’d been “complicit” in the policies the White House has been pushing over the past couple months, she said she’s complicit in “wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact.”

Maybe your silence means that this is just who you are; your father’s daughter. That you have no vested interest in keeping women a powerful force in the workplace, because you never really had to fight for professional respect, since your family name entitled you to buy it. I’m just workshopping here.

Silence is complicity, Ivanka — whether you believe it or not. You’re the Cruella de Vil of working women– prancing around with our sweat and protest cloaked over your body, hoping that your working mom “brand” will stay intact after this mess.

Trust, it won’t.

If your father’s habit of bullying everyone into silence and submission or else, holds true with his family, too — then speak up. What’s more important to you — your West Wing office or your integrity?

Have you never read a mommy blog? You can’t have it all.