Okay, right off the bat let’s get one thing clear: you cannot just change a word’s definition to suit your nefarious needs.
“If being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then I’m complicit,” Ivanka Trump told Gayle King in a recent, awkward interview.
That sure sounds good, Ivanka. Problem is – as Merriam-Webster so helpfully reminded us – complicit actually means “helping to commit a crime or do wrong in some way.”
Sadly, that’s not even the worst of it. Let’s unpack this gut punch of an interview with our (apparently) ever so soft-spoken First Daughter.
On being complicit:
She was referring, of course, to the Scarlett Johansson “Saturday Night Live” sketch. The mock commercial for a perfume called “Complicit” has the tagline, “the fragrance for the woman who could stop all this, but won’t.”
Ivanka seems to believe that anyone else in her situation would behave the same way. She admits, “I don’t know what complicit means,” but then adds, “I hope time will prove that I have… done a good job and much more importantly, that my father’s administration is the success that I know it will be.”
Look, even The Bachelor’s Corinne is grossed out by Ivanka Trump’s complicit behavior. Image via ABC/Giphy
Barf. I mean, I understand that it’s her father, so she can’t outright trash him. I’m close with my dad (not that close). I get it. But does she have to drink the Kool-Aid like that?
On being her father’s daughter:
In that same interview, and on the same topic of not speaking up, she says, “I think that for me this isn’t about promoting my viewpoints. I wasn’t elected by the American people to be president. My father is gonna do a tremendous job. And I wanna help him do that.”
And on husband Jared Kushner’s utter lack of qualifications to be handling international relations, “…a lot of people would say the same about how could somebody successfully win the presidency who had never been engaged in politics? And my father did that, and Jared was instrumental in helping his campaign succeed. So, you know, Jared is incredibly smart, very talented, has enormous capacity.”
Like… did Trump feed her these lines? Her father will do a “tremendous job.” Come on, that’s like something straight off of his Twitter feed. Also, yes, your father won. We’re all still trying to wrap our heads around that one. But I don’t think that means we should shoot for a future completely devoid of candidates with any actual experience.
Tell me no one is still holding onto the belief that this woman is going to help any of us. She basically admits you won’t ever see her speaking up. “But I think most of the impact I have, over time most people will not actually know about,” she says.
Wow, how convenient. If anything good happens you could just say, oh, yeah, I was “instrumental” in that. But if it’s bad, well, it wasn’t her fault! It’s not her administration!
Ivanka also throws major shade at protestors and activists, because apparently it’s indecent to raise your voice – even if you’re fighting for fundamental human rights.
“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. Other times it is quietly and directly and candidly,” she says.
In case her message weren’t clear, she adds, “We’re in a very unique time where noise equals, in a lot of people’s perception, advocacy. And I fundamentally disagree with that.”
Perhaps it’s easier for a wealthy, white woman – and the daughter of the President – to voice her concerns “quietly.” For her, keeping her mouth shut is an insurance policy for her brand. For others, keeping silent means agreeing to years of oppression and discrimination and the possible loss of life-saving healthcare.
On conflicts of interest:
Oh, but don’t worry. Ivanka claims that “almost everyone” her father surrounds himself with feels comfortable giving him the “hard truths.” This is either a blatant lie – or even more terrifying – they just all agree with this horrible administration’s actions.
It gets even more cringeworthy when Gayle asks about Ivanka’s business, which she claims has been put into a trust with “independent trustees.” You see, those “independent trustees” are just her brother-in-law and sister-in-law.
But she argues that it’s all good, because she’s actually sacrificing success by moving into the White House. “I would argue that if I had not come to Washington, D.C. and if I was in New York growing my business I would be doing far better,” she says. Riiiight.
Don’t buy it
Unfortunately for Ivanka we’re not all as dumb as she wants us to be. And we see through her bullshit. Because let’s be real, Ivanka is full of shit.
She wants to get credit for being this moral, inspiring champion of women… without doing any of the work. And yes, we’re all for solidarity and seeing other women succeed. But that doesn’t mean that, as women, we have to support you unquestionably simply because you are a woman. You still have to earn that respect and support.
And that is just not something Ivanka has done. So, sorry, Ivanka. You’re full of shit, and we’re not buying it.
