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In an interview that demonstrates an astounding lack of introspection and self-awareness, first daughter Ivanka Trump spoke out against the Green New Deal on the basis that it provides a “guaranteed minimum” income, but most Americans “want to work for what they get.”
Before we get into the details of the Green New Deal, the new economic proposal spearheaded by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, and their fellow progressive Democrats, it’s worth it to review a bit about Trump herself.
Although she has not been elected to any position and has no background in politics, Trump has been granted a senior advisory role in the White House—thanks, of course, to her father and nepotism. Given that Trump was born into incredible wealth, her opportunities were enormous even before her father reached the White House. For example, she began working for the Trump Organization right after graduating from college in 2005. To entertain the idea that she hasn’t had privileges and opportunities that most people (even those within the business) can only dream of is to be naive.
There’s also the fact that, even outside of her father’s sphere of influence, Trump herself benefits from privileges as a white, cisgender person with access to enormous wealth.
President Donald Trump bragged the other day that his daughter has created “millions” of jobs, but (surprising no one) has yet to back up that claim.
Ivanka spoke to Steve Hilton of Fox News about the Green New Deal. The full interview will air on Sunday, but what’s been released about the economic initiative so far is pretty telling.
Hilton opened the topic by asking Trump, “You’ve got people who will see that offer from the Democrats, from the progressive Democrats, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: ‘Here’s the Green New Deal, here’s the guarantee of a job,’ and think, ‘yeah, that’s what I want, it’s that simple.’ What do you say to those people?” She replied: “I don’t think most Americans, in their heart, want to be given something. I’ve spent a lot of time traveling around this country over the last four years. People want to work for what they get. So, I think that this idea of a guaranteed minimum is not something most people want. They want the ability to be able to secure a job. They want the ability to live in a country where’s there’s the potential for upward mobility.”
When asked about her father’s economic policies, Trump said, “So, as an American, families sitting down and thinking about their financial situation relative to a month ago or a year ago, America is doing very well and it stands in quite sharp contrast to the rest of the world. So, not only are we doing well, much of the world has slowed down in terms of the pace of their growth.”
This response is more than a little akin to her father’s typical reactions, in that she isn’t backing up a single point with specifics.
The somehow-controversial Green New Deal aims at eliminating greenhouse gas pollution in the U.S. over the next 10 years. The idea is that, in addressing climate change, the deal can also guarantee jobs to workers that provide living wages. So, potentially killing two birds with one stone. Guaranteeing jobs—not a “minimum.”