Ivanka Trump Clout Chases Donald's Time Person Of The Year Status With Rare Appearance

Despite president-elect Donald Trump's apparent attempts to lure his daughter, Ivanka Trump, back to D.C., she's remained steadfast in her desire to leave politics behind. Since 2022, she and her husband, Jared Kushner, have kept their distance from Trump's world in light of his legal troubles. If there were any hopes of her rejoining her dad in the final days of his campaign, gestures like the shade she threw toward him in a cryptic birthday post seemingly did away with any prospects of such a reunion taking place. However, that didn't stop her from vicariously soaking in some attention in December 2024 in the midst of one of her dad's most recent achievements.

On December 12, 2024, Trump was named the Time magazine 2024 Person of the Year in recognition of his political comeback and election victory. Though Ivanka previously vowed to stay out of her father's affairs, and rarely appeared with him in any political capacity during his campaign, she was notably front and center while the president-elect rang the New York Stock Exchange's opening bell under the backdrop of his Person of the Year cover. She also commemorated the moment on Instagram in a possible attempt to redirect some of the attention toward herself. "Celebrating an extraordinary milestone with my father @realdonaldtrump, @melaniatrump @tiffanytrump @jdvance as he rang the NYSE opening bell in front of his TIME Person of the Year cover," she wrote. "Congratulations, Dad!"

Though it could be argued that Ivanka Trump's appearance with her family at the New York Stock Exchange could simply have been a case of a loving daughter supporting her accomplished father, the notion of her presence may seem fishy, given her absence on the campaign trail. While Ivanka's attendance might not seem as fame-hungry of a move as the actions of other Trump family members like Lara Trump, it's possible she might still crave some of the attention she lost following her departure from politics, considering she was once her dad's right-hand woman.

However, as the Person of the Year announcement wasn't an inherently campaign-related function, and was more so meant to celebrate Trump for receiving the honor, it could be argued Ivanka wasn't entirely violating her self-imposed political exile by attending the event. As she said in 2022, "While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena," (via The New York Times).