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Ivanka Trump has been steadily distancing herself from her father’s brand since he left office.
A former adviser in the Trump White House, Ivanka now says she’s done with politics.
Despite the rebrand, Ivanka remains in legal trouble for her role in Trump businesses.
She hasn’t changed her name, but Ivanka Trump’s image has undergone a major makeover in recent years, as she has slowly separated herself from her father’s brand. But, despite the rebirth, Donald Trump’s elder daughter remains deeply entwined in his businesses — and legal troubles.
Gone are the power suits and American flags in every other photo she’s caught in, Ivanka’s Instagram feed these days is filled with shots of her with her family, glamorous shots of her outfits, and tributes to her late mother.
Instead of attending campaign speeches and rallies, the former businesswoman and one-time presidential adviser has most recently been spotted with husband Jared Kushner and their children attending synagogue and spending time at the beach on Mother’s Day.
But the distance isn’t just symbolic – Ivanka has spelled it out.
Last November, in one of her most recent public statements about politics, Ivanka announced she had been “done” with the Capitol drama since the day she left and “would never go back to being her father’s adviser.” Days later, she skipped her father’s 2024 presidential campaign announcement.
She stopped commenting on politics and started posting pictures of herself praying on Twitter.
Ivanka only briefly broke her relative silence to share a measured response to the news that her father had been indicted on hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up their affair.
“I love my father, and I love my country,” she said in a statement posted to social media, The Times of Israel reported. “Today, I am pained for both. I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern.”
Beyond public appearances or showings of political support, Ivanka’s distance from the rest of the Trump family has also begun to show itself legally. At the end of April, Forbes reported that Ivanka dumped the lawyers representing her and her brothers in a fraud lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Eric and Don Jr. kept their representation.
Ivanka, along with her brothers, father, and two other executives of the Trump Organization, are being sued for $250 million, with the complaint alleging the real estate company misrepresented their property values on official records for financial gain.
Her new lawyers argued, in a request to delay the trial, that the fraud suit “does not contain a single allegation that Ms. Trump directly or indirectly created, prepared, reviewed, or certified any of her father’s financial statements,” adding that “other individuals were responsible for those tasks.”
Lawyers for Ivanka did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
“It’s a little late in the game for her to be rebranding, although it makes a lot of sense from a legal perspective. Having all of these people — when it comes to Trump, Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka — with the same lawyer, there could end up being conflict of interest issues,” attorney and legal analyst Andrew Lieb told Insider.
Lieb added: “I think there’s probably something going on here where there’s infighting because I find that families all love each other until they’re all liable for $250 million.”
‘She’s a Kushner’
A crisis communications expert familiar with Ivanka’s situation told Insider that she and her husband have “maintained a separate position” from the rest of the Trump family for several years — though he noted that the distance doesn’t mean she’s not supportive of her father, but their closeness does impact her reputation.
Ivanka was “not part of the presidential announcement, so there’s definitely a significant difference between them, but I think the reality is you have the same name, so there’s going to be an association,” the crisis communications expert said. “As he’s running for office, that association is going to be a relevant factor in people’s perceptions.”
And that association with her father and his many legal battles isn’t going away anytime soon, he told Insider. As much as Ivanka should focus on her family, philanthropic efforts, or issue advocacy, he said, many people will be unconvinced that she can be separated completely.
“Right now? Most people are not going to care what she does, as long as her father is a viable candidate for the presidency, there is a significant portion of the population that will not have any interest in the reintroduction of Ivanka Trump into the general conversation,” he said.
He added: “But at some point, he will no longer be a viable candidate, and that’s when I think people will start to pay attention and they’ll be a little more open-minded because the fear and the loathing that’s associated with him among a portion of the population trumps any of the positive things that she’s been doing.”
Lieb told Insider Ivanka’s pivot toward her husband’s family and away from her father’s brand is likely an attempt at her own social repositioning after losing brand deals and friends and moving out of New York to Miami following Trump’s term in office.
“My gut feeling is she’s a Kushner,” Lieb said. “And she’s not 100% with both feet in the Trump orbit. Jared has his own world and his own orbit — and we all know about his father’s own issues, but it’s a lot more stable brand, a lot less visible brand. They’ve got a lot going on over in the Kushner clan, and she has her kids and her family. That’s a different world.”