Ivanka Trump was deadly serious when she said she would be distancing herself from her father, as she was nowhere to be seen when he delivered his post-arraignment speech at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, April 4th. Donald Trump’s speech came after it was unveiled that he was charged with 34 felony counts related to business fraud in a Manhattan court earlier that day, for which he pleaded “not guilty.” As written by CNN, this marks the “first time in American history” that a current or former president has “faced criminal charges.”
Donald Trump’s wife Melania Trump was also noticeably absent, although his other children Donald Trump Jr, 45, Eric Trump, 39, and Tiffany Trump, 29, who got married at Mar-a-Lago last year, were all in attendance along with their partners. Melania, 52, was last publicly seen with her husband last Thursday, shortly after it was revealed that a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict him over hush-money payments to adult entertainer Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Daniels claimed she slept with the former president soon after Melania gave birth to their son Barron, now 17. The Guardian reports that payments were also made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, and a former Trump Tower doorman to buy the rights to an allegedly untrue story about a child fathered out of wedlock.
READ MORE: Ivanka Trump Appears To Throw Her Father & Brothers Under The Bus In New York Fraud Case
Trump on stage in Mar-a-Lago hours after arraignment on criminal charges in NY.
Melania & Ivanka do not appear to be here.
Don Jr, Eric & Tiffany are.
+Roger Stone, MTG, Gaetz, Rosendale, Ronny Jackson, Kari Lake, Lindell, campaign team. pic.twitter.com/hwHcTDCRvZ
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) April 5, 2023
Ivanka Trump Issues A Statement Following Donald Trump’s Indictment
The 41-year-old mom-of-three’s absence from the former president’s speech comes after she said she didn’t want to involve herself in politics after he announced his third run for the White House. However, the former White House adviser issued a short statement on her Instagram Story on Thursday, March 30th following the indictment saying: “I love my father and I love my country. Today I am pained for both. I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern.”
Ivanka Trump makes first public statement since her father was indicted: ‘I love my father, and I love my country. Today, I am pained for both’
via https://t.co/nLEC6jtW63 https://t.co/ProDiVIpD1— Clare ON GETTR: @clare_2point0 (@ClareIN_CALI) March 31, 2023
Her husband, Jared Kushner, 42, also had something to say on the matter, as he said the following day that the indictment proved that Democrats “fear” the “political strength” of the former president. “It’s been hard to watch the opponents of him politically continue to break every norm over the last [few] years to try to get to him,” Kushner said while speaking at the Future Investment Initiative Summit in Florida. “I’ve been by him during a lot of these instances and it’s only made him stronger and his resolve to take on big challenges to fight for change.”
Ivanka Is 'Through With Politics' And Her Children Are Her 'Priorities'
One source reportedly told People that, despite wanting to keep her distance from the twice-impeached former president, there is no "tension" in Ivanka's relationship with her father, and she simply wants to step back from anything political and focus on building a new family life in Miami with her husband and their three children, Arabella, 11, Joseph, 9, and Theodore, 7.
Another source told People: "Even though Ivanka loves her dad, she knows how impossible he can be." They went on to say that the former First Daughter "is recreating her business life and raising her children which are her priorities. She is through with politics."
The source also said that she is more than aware there is nothing she can do to help her father with the charges against him. "Donald does what he wants and she can't help him now," the source said, adding, "His help is in the hands of his lawyers and advisers. She is no longer working in that capacity."
Although Ivanka is distancing herself publicly, it's an entirely different story behind closed doors, as Page Six reported that Ivanka *did* pay her father a short visit on Sunday, April 2nd, which was described as a "display of support" for him, even though no one saw or photographed her there.
