Chelsea Clinton Isn't Ivanka, But That Doesn't Mean We Shouldn't Criticize Her

Photo credit: ROBYN BECK+AFP / Getty
Photo credit: ROBYN BECK+AFP / Getty

From ELLE

On Tuesday, Maggie Haberman, White House correspondent for the New York Times, tweeted something suggesting that Ivanka Trump has been unfairly ridiculed by the press as compared to another famous first daughter, Chelsea Clinton. "Most of press gave Chelsea Clinton rather large leeway over many years into adulthood as she adjusted," she wrote in response to backlash over her praising Trump for handling herself "pretty solidly" after getting booed onstage.

It is an absurd, and uneven, claim to make about how the two women have been treated in the press. Of course the press is going to treat differently a 35-year-old woman who has been nepotistically assigned an official position in the White House and the daughter of two politicians who may have campaigned for them, but has never held an official government position.

Chelsea Clinton has been on a bit of a press tour, and as such, the takes on her politics have rained in. There's been a rush to establish whether you're pro- or anti-Chelsea. Some op-eds say she'd be the worst thing to happen to the Democratic Party. Others cry LEAVE CHELSEA ALONE. The latest point seems to be a Vanity Fair piece by T.A. Frank, pleading for God to "stop Chelsea Clinton from whatever she is doing." But they all show how everyone loves a political figurehead, often to the detriment of politics.

Chelsea Clinton has faced her share of unwarranted media scrutiny. When Chelsea was a child in the White House, Rush Limbaugh famously made fun of her looks, and she was hounded about her father after his sex scandal. For a while, she seemed content to stay out of the public eye. She spent four years at Stanford University with almost no media coverage. She worked for a management consulting firm. She got married and had a kid.

Photo credit: Getty
Photo credit: Getty

If Chelsea Clinton wanted to be a layperson, she would have to work hard for it, being the only daughter of two of the most famous and successful politicians in America. But her recent actions prove she doesn't want that. Not only does she serve was the Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, she also worked as a special correspondent for NBC from 2011 through 2014, and actively campaigned for her mother in 2008 and 2016. She also spends a lot of time getting into political arguments on Twitter. She's positioned herself as a political entity, is well connected, and wields considerable political power, both inherited and independently attained. She's not Ivanka, but that doesn't mean she should be immune to political criticism.

Maybe her prevalence in political discussion, some of which is self-induced, is why some were overzealously demanding that Clinton solemnly swear to never run for public office. After saying she had no intention to do so, she was accused of not denying it hard enough. "Goodness gracious," she responded to one such demand on Twitter, "I've no plans. How much clearer can I be (since you ask for clarity)?"

Haranguing Clinton on Twitter to promise she will never, ever, cross-her-heart-and-hope-to-die, become a politician is not the best use of anyone's resources, but it's not coming out of nowhere. Chelsea Clinton has ramped up her press game recently, from the aforementioned Twitter arguments to her promotion of her children's book, She Persisted, to plenty of other interviews (including in this publication). And after Hillary Clinton's loss, cries of "Run, Chelsea, Run!" quickly spread through liberal circles.

For the past 100 days, anyone opposed to Donald Trump's presidency has faced a lot of anxiety, and probably engaged in some heated discussions about how to best move forward. Many are worried that the DNC is going to mess things up again, whether it's by ignoring intel on Michigan, or backing the wrong person. There's fear that the DNC will dilute their platform by stepping away from popular issues like being pro-choice, pro-marijuana legalization, and anti-war. And Chelsea Clinton, who once suggested pot kills people (there's no documented evidence of that), and who reportedly protested an anti-war protest after 9/11, for many would absolutely be the wrong person.

Photo credit: Getty
Photo credit: Getty

There are those who go after both Clinton and Ivanka Trump (who, remember, are friends) with a certain glee, as if their flaws make them the absolute worst people in or adjacent to politics at this moment. And there are those who, with sympathy for Clinton or with love for her image as a smart, professional woman, hope she is the Democratic savior. What reactionaries on both sides are driven by is fear. Fear that the Democratic Party will choose the wrong leader. Fear that there will be no leader at all. Fear breeds fanaticism on both sides, and Clinton, both because of her actions and public anxiety, has become the focus of it.

It has always been easier to focus on an individual than on a system in which a thousand tiny decisions can lead to one big outcome. In many ways, being a figurehead is how Trump found success. He promised that he, not the Republican party, not the system, would be the one to get things done. And in response, Democrats, liberals, and leftists are looking for one of their own, whether it's Bernie Sanders or Maxine Waters. It is easier to be a fan than a concerned citizen, one who thanks our officials when they do well and criticizes when they don't. Chelsea Clinton, positively or negatively, inspires fandom.

Photo credit: Getty
Photo credit: Getty

Clinton hasn't done anything yet, and maybe she never will. It certainly looks like she's setting up something, but maybe this all really is a press tour for her children's book, and god knows she's not the only one who stays up late debating people on Twitter. Then again, nobody announces a political run until it's actually time to run. Chelsea Clinton is going to do what she wants. Whatever that is, it should be analyzed. And if you're worried about the DNC backing the wrong candidate, call Tom Perez.

This post has been updated to reflect that Maggie Haberman was referring to the press' treatment of Chelsea Clinton as a young adult, not as a pre-teen.

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