Ivanka Trump faced a particularly brutal week after it became apparent this week that she could face legal consequences for her actions while working in her father’s business and while helping to plan his 2017 inauguration.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that President Donald Trump has talked to his advisers about granting his daughter a preemptive pardon, which to legal experts suggests that the president is worried she could be charged with federal crimes. CNN also reported that Ivanka Trump sat for a deposition on Tuesday as part of a lawsuit by the Washington, D.C., attorney general’s office, alleging that more than $1 million in inaugural funds were misused.
The reports prompted the hashtags #LockHerUp and #IvankaForPrison to trend on Twitter. The first daughter has more than 10 million followers on the social media site, but she also has attracted many outspoken critics who tend to overwhelm her posts with accusations that she’s “a grifter,” “complicit,” a “nepotism Barbie” or worse.
But since her father lost the election Nov. 3, Ivanka Trump has begun posting on Parler, a pro-Trump social media site. It’s fair to say that people are nicer to the White House senior adviser on Parler than they are on Twitter and that #LockHerUp and #IvankaForPrison comments are nowhere near as prevalent.
“I admired you when you sat with your father on ‘The Apprentice,'” one Parler user wrote to Ivanka. “You have constantly proven to me that you are a wonderful person who has class, poise, and so many abilities. I love your family.”
This Parler user was writing in response to Ivanka Trump going on the offensive about giving the deposition in the Washington, D.C., inquiry. She issued a statement on Twitter and Parler, calling the investigation “another politically motivated demonstration of vindictiveness & waste of taxpayer dollars.”
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) December 3, 2020
On Twitter, Ivanka Trump faced a torrent of criticism, including people calling her “Daddy’s embezzling princess.” People also suggested that her statement offered misleading information about the case, which focuses on whether the committee “grossly” overpaid for use of event space at the Trump hotel in Washington.
In her statement, Ivanka Trump shared a 2017 email she said she sent about Trump hotel prices for the inauguration. In her email, she said the Presidential Inaugural Committee should be charged “fair market rates.”
But Twitter users shared statements Thursday from Karl A. Racine, the attorney general for Washington, D.C., who wrote that the committee “willfully used nonprofit funds to enrich the Trump family. It’s very simple: They broke the law. That’s why we sued.”
He added: “We filed suit after gathering evidence that the Presidential Inaugural Committee knowingly entered into a grossly overpriced contract with the Trump Hotel.” He shared an email from Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, an ex-friend of first lady Melania Trump and a Manhattan event planner who helped organize the inauguration. Wolkoff expressed concern about the prices being charged and what a future audit would uncover.
We filed suit after gathering evidence that the Presidential Inaugural Committee knowingly entered into a grossly overpriced contract with the Trump Hotel.
Any claim to the contrary is incorrect. https://t.co/luQXOSqIRo pic.twitter.com/Ny8d9kiwOa
— Archive: AG Karl A. Racine (@AGKarlRacine) December 3, 2020
On Twitter, some of the Trump family’s most vociferous critics challenged Ivanka’s statements about the Trump hotel pricing. These users also help fueled the spread of the #IvankaForPrison hashtag:
We hear #IvankaForPrison is trending pic.twitter.com/KHLq4OuzFY
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) December 3, 2020
https://twitter.com/BettyBowers/status/1334523422752333824
Meanwhile, over on Parler, Ivanka Trump received a more sympathetic response, including someone with the user name @LeftismIsEvil excoriating Twitter, “a poisonous platform,” for allowing #IvankaForPrison and #LockHerUp to flourish.
“Hang tight beautiful Ivanka!!,” another person wrote. “Be your classy self and don’t take any nonsense from useful idiots!!” Another user called her “The Queen Esther of this generation,” and still another said: “We the people are with you and praying for you!”
Ivanka Trump was among millions of people who joined a migration to Parler, a Twitter-like app, and other conservative-friendly social sites following the Nov. 3 election. Ivanka Trump joined Parler on Nov. 12 and already has more than 499,000 followers.
The New York Times reported that conservatives started moving away from Facebook and Twitter because the sites began to clamp down on misinformation about the election results, including Trump’s false claims about widespread voter fraud.
Parler, meanwhile, is known for its lax moderation policies, in keeping with its claims to being a bastion of free speech, the New York Times added.
But those policies have a downside for the user experience. The Washington Post also reported that Parler has become a magnet for pornographers, escort services and online sex merchants who are using hashtags targeting conservatives, such as #keepamericasexy and #milfsfortrump2020.
Parents Together Action, a national, parent-led organization, even issued a warning to parents about letting their children be on Parler, saying the site is “inappropriate and dangerous for minors.” Because of its “non-existent moderation of content,” the site attracts an extremist user base and allows hate speech, incitements to violence and disinformation about the election results to become pervasive on the platform, the group said.
It also turns out that Ivanka Trump can’t entirely escape her critics on Parler.
“Girl, get ready for prison,” one person wrote, while another added, “If you don’t want to spend 5 hours in deposition maybe you shouldn’t commit the crime!!!” Still another wrote, “I’m looking forward to never having to hear your name again.”
Still, Ivanka Trump could take comfort in the many other Parler users who said they were praying for her and her family and who agreed that the investigation is politically motivated.
“They just want to get you and your family no matter what they have to do. Be careful and stay safe,” someone wrote.
It could also be said that Ivanka Trump’s migration to Parler continues her “stunning transformation from a publicly liberal New Yorker who some hoped would serve as a restraining influence on her father to an ‘unapologetically’ ‘pro-life’ advocate of the Make America Great Again agenda — a ‘proud Trump Republican,'” the Washington Post reported.
This transformation could be in service of Ivanka Trump’s next career move, now that she will soon be out of her White House job and she’s likely to be shunned by any of her liberal New York high-society friends with “morals” and “respect for democracy,” as Vanity Fair said. The Washington Post said Ivanka’s next career could be a run for political office, though she has dodged questions about a political run so far.
Still, “Trumpworld could be seeking the next heir apparent once the president leaves office,” the Washington Post said.
