15 Prominent Ivanka Trump Controversies

From Cosmopolitan

While Ivanka Trump initially avoided playing a prominent role in her father's presidential campaign, she quickly became important to his success, with some arguing that "Ivanka voters" were a large part of the reason President Donald Trump ultimately won the election.

Throughout Donald Trump's campaign, many of his more reluctant supporters saw Ivanka Trump's consistent presence and vocal support of her father as proof that Donald Trump was a moderate candidate - and that he would protect women's rights because he had raised a working mother of three who "absolutely" identifies as a feminist.

But showing continued support for her father despite some of his more offensive moments on the campaign trail, combined with the impossible task of presenting a version of Donald Trump at odds with the man angrily tweeting at Saturday Night Live, quickly made the first daughter subject to some major criticism. From feuding with BuzzFeed to sharing questionable Instagrams, here are 15 Ivanka Trump controversies starting from her father's time on the campaign trail.

1. Her failure to vote in the primaries.

Reports surfaced in April 2016 that two of Donald Trump's children, Ivanka and Eric, missed the October deadline to register to vote in the closed Republican New York City primaries. When asked by Fox & Friends, Donald Trump said "they were unaware of the rules" and also "felt guilty." "New York has one of the most onerous rules in terms of registration and it required us to register a long time ago, almost close to a year ago. And, we didn't do that," Ivanka Trump told Anderson Cooper at a town hall with her family.

2. Her branded tweet following the Republican National Convention.

Ivanka Trump wore a $138 sheath dress from her own eponymous collection at Macy's on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention in July 2016. She introduced her father as the GOP presidential nominee, then sent out a tweet about her look.

3. Her much-scrutinized hug with Donald Trump.

Before sending out that controversial tweet, Ivanka Trump had an incredibly uncomfortable interaction with her dad. It was a strange combination of hug-meets-butt-tapping and the internet freaked out. While this might not be Ivanka Trump's fault, the awkward interaction only furthered questions surrounding Donald Trump's strange adoration of his first daughter.

4. Her shoe brand lawsuit.

In July 2016, Italian shoe company Aquazzura hit the first daughter with a trademark lawsuit, claiming she stole their designs for her own shoe line. The lawsuit stated Ivanka Trump was guilty of "repeated infringement" and "deceptive trade practices." Marc Fisher, co-defendant on the case and line licenser, said the lawsuit was without merit. Ivanka also denied copying the designs.

5. Her tense interview with Cosmopolitan.com.

Cosmopolitan.com spoke with Ivanka Trump after her father released his child care and maternity leave plan in September 2016. During the interview, she was asked about the plan's application to same-sex couples as well as her father's previous remarks about pregnancy being an "inconvenience." Trump told reporter Prachi Gupta there was "a lot of negativity" in the questions and ended the interview abruptly.

6. The resurfaced interview in which she defended her dad against sexual assault claims.

The infamous "grab them by the pussy" tape leaked online in October 2016, causing outrage over Donald Trump bragging about sexual assault. When the Trump camp initially stayed quiet, an interview from May 2016 resurfaced that showed Ivanka Trump defending her dad from sexual assault claims. She assured CBS This Morning that her dad was "not a groper," a claim the 2005 recording seemed to challenge.

7. When her Twitter account liked a tweet about her being called "piece of ass."

In a strange turn of events, Ivanka Trump's Twitter account liked a post from HuffPost Politics about Donald Trump saying it was OK for Howard Stern to call his daughter a "piece of ass" in October 2016. The tweet was later unliked and a source close to Ivanka Trump's company told Cosmopolitan.com it was "a simple mistake made by a staff member."

8. Her alleged racist comments.

After Ivanka Trump said her father's language on the Access Hollywood tape was "a bit jarring," BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti tweeted in October 2016 recalling a time when he heard Trump allegedly say she had never seen a "mulatto cock" before. He said the incident occurred about eight to 10 years ago at a dive bar called Tropical 128 in New York City. While he said he could not remember the full context of the conversation, Peretti said the lewd, racist language stood out to him and other attendees, two of whom confirmed Peretti's account. Ivanka Trump denied the conversation while Donald Trump's campaign insisted on an apology.

9. Her brand's media alert after her 60 Minutes interview.

Ivanka Trump appeared on 60 Minutes with her father and other family members days after the November 2016 election. During the interview, Trump wore a bracelet from her own Metropolis collection that retailed at $10,800. A media alert sent by Ivanka Trump's VP of sales after the special aired gave journalists details about the gold and diamond bracelet, actualizing the concerns many Americans have about the business conflicts of interest that would result from a Donald Trump presidency.

10. Her talk with the Argentinian president.

Follow her father's win, Ivanka Trump briefly joined Donald Trump when he spoke to the Argentinian President Mauricio Macri in the November 2016. The call caused concerns because Ivanka Trump and her siblings were projected to run the Trump Organization once her father took office, which meant entering the conversation would be unethical. After the call, Donald Trump finally received approval to start construction on a new Trump Tower in Buenos Aires this year, a project he started working on in 2012.

11. Her $50,000 coffee date.

In December 2016, a coffee date with Ivanka Trump, meant to benefit her brother Eric's foundation for St. Jude's Children Hospital, was listed on the Charity Buzz website. The New York Times reported on the ethical controversy auctioning off face-time with the then-president-elect's children would cause. Bidders were essentially vying for the chance to gain a deeper look into Donald Trump's political world and, in turn, buy influence through meeting his daughter. The auction page later disappeared from the website without explanation.

12. Her fancy silver dress.

Donald Trump signed an executive order Jan. 28 banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, which the Ninth Circuit federal appeals court later ruled could not be enforced nationally. The next night, while people protested at airports across the country, Ivanka Trump posted an Instagram of herself in formalwear with her husband. Sources later told Vanity Fair that she and her husband didn't know about the uproar because they had been observing Shabbat - even though she posted the photo hours after sundown.

13. The boycotts of her brand at Nordstrom and elsewhere.

The #GrabYourWallet boycott started in October 2016 following the release of the Access Hollywood tape. Part of the boycott's goal was to encourage department stores to stop carrying Trump family brands - and it eventually worked. What started as a statement by Nordstrom on Feb. 2 announcing the drop of Ivanka Trump's line from stores quickly turned into a soap opera drama between the brand and the first family. Between unethical "free commercials" by Kellyanne Conway - she told Fox News that people should "go buy Ivanka's stuff" - and celebrities voicing their support of the store, shopping (or not shopping) at Nordstrom became a political act. At least 10 other retailers have joined Nordstrom to dump Trump. In the midst of the boycotts, Donald Trump himself tweeted, "My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!" The response drew criticism as the president clearly used his status to influence his daughter's business.

14. Her Oval Office Instagram post.

When Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau visited the White House on Valentine's Day, the internet wondered if stars were in Ivanka Trump's eyes. But it didn't take long for controversy to follow after Trump shared an image of her sitting at the president's desk. Some applauded the photo's caption; however, others were outraged by the image, which they saw as ironic considering Donald Trump's homogeneous staff is made up of white males.

15. When the Ivanka Trump brand tweeted about popsicles for Memorial Day.

Twitter users were not pleased after Ivanka Trump’s brand tweeted out a recipe for Champagne popsicles for Memorial Day. The tweet also led to tips for grilling, a road trip playlist, and packing tips, all featured on IvankaTrump.com.

While the brand kept the tweet up, Ivanka Trump ended up posting from her own handle the next day:

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