Political Expert Tells Us Ivanka's Social Media Could Impact Trump's Campaign (& Not How You'd Expect)

Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign is well underway. His daughter, Ivanka Trump, has been distancing herself from her dad since he left the White House, and she hasn't joined him on the campaign trail. However, Ivanka's lack of involvement with her dad's run for president this time around doesn't mean that she won't influence his campaign. During Donald's time in the White House, Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, both acted as senior advisors to the then-president. These days, though, it seems that Ivanka's priorities have changed entirely. We talked to an expert about what Ivanka's lifestyle and social media presence may mean for Donald's campaign, and she thinks it could have a positive effect.

According to Caroline Heldman, political science professor at Occidental College, while Ivanka isn't working on her father's presidential campaign, she "is instead running her own campaign to re-enter high society." Before Donald's presidency, Ivanka was a socialite with an active social life and an inner circle full of A-listers. However, her dad's polarizing political career and her role in it took a toll on how people perceived her, and many of her friends no longer wanted to be involved with her as a result. These days, Ivanka is interested in getting back the life she once had, and she's using social media to do it. Believe it or not, her social media following may help Donald's cause.

Ivanka Trump is making a foray back into the company of the elite social groups she was once a part of, but her politics and association with Donald Trump's presidency aren't making it easy for her to get back to where she started. Upon her return to her life after the White House, she had been abandoned by her peers, and her clothing line had been shut down due to poor sales, Caroline Heldman noted. Still, she added, "The rich and powerful are never exiled for very long in U.S. society ... reputational rehabilitation is possible with the right PR firm and time. The question is whether Ivanka's former socialite friends — high society — will let her back into their rarefied circles."

The jury on that is still out, as her inner circle is very different from how it was. "After a few years of social isolation, Ivanka and Jared have been seen out more, and Kim Kardashian recently sat Ivanka next to her at her birthday party. Kim posted a photo of the two of them on Instagram, the most prominent display of support for Ivanka since her White House days. But a Kardashian party is not high society," Heldman told us. Surely Ivanka is still working to climb the social ladder but, as Heldman said, "for now, she is 'slumming it' as a social media influencer." This may not have been what Ivanka hoped for, but it may actually be a bonus for Donald's campaign. 

When Ivanka Trump chose to step away from politics, surely most of us could have anticipated that this would actually be a good political move that would benefit Donald Trump. It seems, though, that it just might be. "I think Ivanka has more power to positively affect Trump's candidacy from outside politics," Caroline Heldman told us. "As an influencer, she can reach audiences who might otherwise reject her for her politics."

When she was an active part of the Trump administration, Ivanka was unable to control many aspects of how the public viewed her. It was difficult for folks to separate her from her dad and her opinions from their politics. Now that she's removed herself from that narrative, she's able to use social media to show the world — including about 7.5 million followers on Instagram — what she wants to show. "Her social media frames her as a spirited family woman, curated to reach a wide audience across the political spectrum," Heldman said. She is still Donald Trump's daughter, though. If she comes across as a less polarizing figure, this may rub off on how folks view him. "As much as her reputation has taken a hit, Ivanka has always played a normalizing role for her father," Heldman said. "Her new status as a social media influencer means she has a large platform to normalize Trump as a viable candidate, especially for younger voters."