Ivanka Trump on Using Private Email: It’s No Big Deal When I Do It

Every once in a while, Ivanka Trump emerges from the corrupt labyrinth of the White House to give an interview wherein she calmly attempts to appear palatable while defending the chaotic viciousness of her father and his administration. In one such interview with Deborah Roberts that aired Wednesday on Good Morning America, the first daughter spoke about US law enforcement using tear gas on migrants and disputed the idea that her father is drumming up hatred throughout the country. But the most interesting part of the segment was her response to the Hillary Clinton-esque email scandal that is currently failing to outrage anyone.

Last week, the Washington Post reported that Trump's favorite child "sent hundreds of emails last year to White House aides, Cabinet officials and her assistants using a personal account, many of them in violation of federal records rules." Her husband and fellow Trump aide, Jared Kushner, also reportedly use his private email to conduct White House business, as Politico reported in 2017.

If you recall, Ivanka's father christened his 2016 opponent "Crooked Hillary" over similar practices, inspiring his fans to chant "lock her up!" at his rallies. According to Ivanka, however, "There just is no equivalency between the two things."

"People who want to see it as the same see it as the same, but the fact is that we all have private emails and personal emails to coordinate with our family," the elder Trump daughter said. "We all receive content to those emails, and there's no prohibition from using private email, as long as it's archived and as long as there's nothing in it that's classified," she continued, explaining that she never intended to "circumvent" the public record and that her emails have been preserved.

"So the idea of 'lock her up' doesn't apply to you?" Roberts asked.

"No," Trump responded.

Well since we all technically "receive content" to(?) our private emails, I guess that ends that debate—though when your family members are also your coworkers in the White House, the idea that there is a firm line between private and government business seems fairly laughable.

Trump also said that "like any other person with a heart," she was devastated by the images of the border patrol using tear gas, but followed up with the seemingly heartless assertion that "there are people in the caravan who are not so innocent" and her father "has to protect our country's security."

When asked about the president's claim that he gave border patrol troops "the OK" to use "lethal force" on migrants, Ivanka denied that he said it at all, but nevertheless sort of defended what she says he didn't say. "I don’t believe that that’s what he said," the first daughter stated. “But his primary role as commander in chief is obviously to protect the nation’s borders. He has to protect our country’s security. But I don’t―lethal force in this case would―that is not, I think, something that anyone is talking about.”

When confronted with the increasingly obvious truth that Trump's presidency is creating a climate of hatred through the US, Ivanka said, “I reject that. I think that he is creating policy that is going to lift up all Americans. And that’s what his number-one role is,” asserting that her and her fellow Trump supporters are in fact "looking to engage in earnest."

Hm.

When Roberts noted that Donald Trump did not at all seem likely to engage with his opposition, Ivanka made sure to say that she "frequently" disagrees with her father, but said that "it is not my place as somebody working within a White House to tell you what I'm against. The only person who knows that is one person, and he knows it."

Despite uttering many words throughout the interview, the most incredible thing about it was how Ivanka managed to say nothing at all.

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