Ivanka Trump has faced criticism at Berlin’s W20 event after responding to a question about her father’s behaviour towards women.
She spoke on a panel with other influential female leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, IMF CEO Christine Lagarde, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, and Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, CEO of German company Trumpf GmbH.
The moderator of the event, Miriam Meckel, did not hold back when questioning Ivanka Trump, asking her what specifically she does in the White House and asking her to address Donald Trump’s past behaviour towards women.
When she described her father as “a tremendous champion of supporting families and enabling them to thrive”, the crowd groaned and booed, clearly disagreeing with the statement.
Meckel continued to question Ivanka, saying, “Some attitudes toward women your father has publicly displayed… might leave one questioning whether he is such an empowerer for women…what’s your comment on that?”
“I’ve certainly heard the criticism from the media and that’s been perpetuated,” Ivanka responded.
“But I know from personal experience that I think the thousands of women who have worked with and for my father for decades, when he was in the private sector, are testament to his belief and solid conviction in the potential of women and their ability to do the job as well as any man.”
Ivanka added that a lot of her values aligned with her father’s, so he was more than happy for her to step into her role in the White House.
“I do label myself a feminist and I think of that in very broad terms…I think of that as believing in the social, political and economic equality for all genders,” she said.
“We have to go out into the world, find people who disagree with us and try and understand their viewpoints.”
People on Twitter have already supported the audience’s reaction, claiming that Ivanka Trump can do more to speak out against her father’s behaviour.
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