<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For Ivanka Trump's entire adult life, she worked for her father.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When</span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="" title=" Donald Trump"><span> Donald Trump</span></a><span> was a real estate mogul, she was designing his next hotel. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When he was on a reality TV show, she was in his television boardroom.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When he was running for office, she was on the campaign trail. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/man-sets-woman-on-fire-kills-her-new-york-subway/d2c0ad6d-86f1-417e-bdf3-abb738a4fe8b"><strong><span>Woman burned to death on New York subway</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When he was president, she had an office in the West Wing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But in January of 2021, for the first time since she was 23 years old, she left Washington – and his employ.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/ivanka-trump-is-done-with-politics-and-says-she-isnt-coming-back/a9b60c37-993a-48b8-8e28-31bd0e938efe" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ivanka Trump is done with politics and says she isn't coming back.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I love my father very much. This time around I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics," she said in a 2022 social media </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/16/politics/ivanka-donald-trump-presidential-campaign-political-involvement/index.html"><span>post</span></a><span> after her father announced his third run for the presidency.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That statement remains true after Donald Trump's 2024 victory, sources close to Ivanka Trump said, as she and her husband, Jared Kushner, seek a relatively private life in Miami, Florida, where they've spent the past four years largely outside of the public spotlight.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It marks a dramatic turnaround for one of the former and future president's closest aides, but an intentional one after the first four bruising years in the White House.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ivanka Trump faced constant scrutiny and criticism for decisions made by her father that she was unable to wholly influence or moderate. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She was alienated by some liberal friends in her New York social circle, and she shut down a relatively successful eponymous clothing and accessories brand amid persistent ethics questions. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/australian-man-captured-in-ukraine-russian-social-media/c754931b-8fda-4c15-916a-ed9871c7055d"><strong><span>Man shown in Russian video claims to be Aussie fighting for Ukraine</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her departure from politics means her father is no longer her boss – and she is forging a new path with a definitively different lifestyle, one made possible as her family's businesses have profited from proximity to the presidency and resulting relationships.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Politics is – it's a pretty dark world. There's a lot of darkness, a lot of negativity, and it's just really at odds with what feels good for me as a human being," she told </span><em><span>The Lex Fridman Podcast</span></em><span> in a three-hour conversation this July.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And you know, it's a really rough business. So for me and my family, it feels right to not participate," she added in what was her most substantive public reflection on her time in Washington and her life after.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Still, a private life may prove elusive as a high-profile member of America's incoming first family, one with a carefully cultivated personal brand and significant influence, beloved to many of the president-elect's supporters and a target of many of his detractors.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump remains very close with her father, with whom she talks regularly, a source close to her said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And she is likely to continue to informally advise him on a range of issues behind-the-scenes, sources told CNN.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She's still his daughter, and a trusted voice, so in that sense an informal adviser, as we all are with our family members," said Maggie Cordish, a long time friend who joined Trump in the West Wing for a year working on paid family leave issues.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>During her time in the White House, staff and advisers took care to highlight her successes and counsel to the president. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There was a robust public relations effort at times over those four years to ensure she got credit for her work – and distance from less popular policies.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She publicly maintained a neatly tailored West Wing portfolio, turning her focus to less polarising issues like criminal justice reform, combating human trafficking and workforce development.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Ivanka proudly spearheaded the White House's efforts and promoted the administration's success" on those policies, a representative for Trump said in a statement to CNN.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/pictures-from-automatic-camera-provide-first-look-at-uncontacted-amazon-community/fc6d6c5f-6ba0-43b2-a4b2-ec575906514d"><strong><span>Pictures from automatic camera provide first look at uncontacted Amazon community</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2024/11/12/09/47/us-election-all-the-people-donald-trump-second-administration-in-photos"><img alt="Tilman Fertitta" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/zAgyHI1cdaQIy2NcT-GBeWIKgN4=/764x411:4068x2270/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F4bd6f98b-0df0-4dec-8dfa-4b6e5b0bb5e0" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/zAgyHI1cdaQIy2NcT-GBeWIKgN4=/764x411:4068x2270/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F4bd6f98b-0df0-4dec-8dfa-4b6e5b0bb5e0 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/SJScW7bNGHrbEyxZ2FXM0vf2U0o=/764x411:4068x2270/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F4bd6f98b-0df0-4dec-8dfa-4b6e5b0bb5e0 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">Trump picks basketball team owner for Italy ambassador job</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2024/11/12/09/47/us-election-all-the-people-donald-trump-second-administration-in-photos">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Perhaps the work that left the most significant mark on Republican politics was her efforts toward paid family leave legislation and a child tax credit for working families.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She made those Republican issues. Really, they had not been Republican issues," said a former colleague.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This time around, sources said, her advice to her father is likely to stay under the radar.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A source familiar with her thinking said that if Trump chooses to weigh in and have influence during her father's second term, "It's never going to be something that people are going to see publicly."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For his part, Kushner is also declining a formal role in the incoming administration, but is expected to be a pivotal outside adviser to Donald Trump's Middle East efforts, leveraging his close relationships with regional leaders. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He also has significant financial interests in the region.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And in a sign of the president-elect's implicit trust in his family members, Jared Kushner's father, Charles Kushner, has been selected as US ambassador to France.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>From 'heir apparent' to jiu-jitsu</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Toward the end of Trump's first term, Ivanka Trump had emerged as a more combative figure, adopting a posture aligned with her father as she lambasted what she cast as "partisan investigations." </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She described herself as "unapologetically" opposed to abortion rights, and at the time, sources predicted a future run for political office, with one source who worked with the Trump family saying that Donald Trump viewed his daughter as "heir apparent."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the end of the first Trump term marked necessary change for the family: Her father was largely exiled from Washington in the aftermath of January 6, 2021, and they left behind the drama of the nation's capital for sunnier skies and Florida's more welcoming political climate.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her decision to leave the political fray may have also been shaped by more challenging personal moments over the past four years. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ivana Trump, her beloved mother, unexpectedly passed away at her New York City home in July 2022.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/christmas-trading-hours-2024-what-stores-are-open-during-the-holiday-period/ad384c83-e62c-4d7e-8089-a6e0210906b1"><strong><span>Christmas is nearly here - what shops will be open?</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The loss of a parent is one of life's very painful passages for which one is never fully prepared. It hits at the very core of your being. And it takes a good amount of time to emerge from how it dislocates you," she wrote in an Instagram </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CmuXbGGu3i0/?img_index=1"><span>post</span></a><span> reflecting on her first holiday season since her mother's death.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She has also been caring for her 98-year-old maternal grandmother, known as "Babi," who lives with the family in Miami.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And her husband has also contended with health issues, revealing in his 2022 memoir that he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2019 and had surgery to remove a growth on his thyroid. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kushner had a second thyroid surgery in August 2022, a source close to him told </span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/kushner-has-second-thyroid-surgery-full-recovery-expected-2022-08-30/"><span>Reuters</span></a><span> at the time.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Friends describe a gradual shift from Trump's more public-facing and aggressive posture to her current position beginning with the family's January 2021 move to Miami, where they settled into an oceanfront condo in the Surfside area before later relocating to a mansion in the exclusive Indian Creek Island enclave.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Multiple friends say she's at peace with her decision to step away from politics, telling CNN that she is prioritising her family, attempting to find some privacy, and pursuing new interests.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Her children are in a sweet spot where they're all critical ages, they're tweens and teens, and it's short – it's really brief. She loves being with her children, and she's found a lot of peace and happiness in her private life," said Cordish.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump has tapped into a wide-ranging series of new hobbies. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her social media posts are peppered with images of her and her family gardening, practicing jiu-jitsu at the Valente Brothers' studio, learning to surf at Kelly Slater's Surf Ranch, playing polo on horseback, driving motocross bikes and playing board games.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She told Fridman that the decision not to be involved in politics "was rooted in me being a parent – really thinking about what they need from me now."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I know today the cost they would pay for me being all in, emotionally, in terms of my absence at such a formative point in their life, and I'm not willing to make them bear that cost," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>Family matters</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump's self-imposed retreat from public life was briefly paused in 2023, as she was forced to testify in the New York civil fraud trial against her father and his company, detailing her role in negotiating loans for Donald Trump's purchases of his Doral resort in Florida and the Old Post Office building in Washington, DC.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While he stood trial in a hush money case earlier this year, family members flocked to the courthouse to stand by him, but Ivanka Trump was notably not present.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After his conviction, she travelled to New York to support her father, but stayed out of sight at Trump Tower. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was found guilty of 34 charges of falsifying business records – a felony conviction for which he has yet to be sentenced. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump pleaded not guilty and has denied wrongdoing in all cases against him.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meanwhile, her brothers Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump fully embraced their father's "Make America Great Again" movement, in part filling the vacuum created by their sister's campaign trail absence. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Eric Trump's wife, Lara Trump, became a key spokesperson and co-chair of the Republican National Committee during her father-in-law's political comeback. Since the election, she has said she's stepping down from the RNC and initially signalled her willingness to fill an expected Florida senate seat opening, pending Sen. Marco Rubio's confirmation as secretary of state. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But she </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/21/politics/trump-mandate-washington-challenges/index.html"><span>withdrew from consideration</span></a><span> Saturday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>The four-year forecast</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With the door firmly closed to a return to political life for now, Ivanka Trump is likely to spend her father's second term using her influence in new ways, including in the non-profit space, with a focus on food insecurity, supporting farmers, and disaster relief, a source close to her said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She is choosing to use her influence now on a more personal level" to "positively impact her own community," the source said, adding, "Being able to have an impact in that way, while allowing her the time to be prioritizing her young children and their privacy, is where she wants to be."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She has worked with victims of the Hawaii wildfires and North Carolina hurricanes, volunteered with Ukrainian refugees in Poland, and packed food boxes at a local kosher food bank.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Dave Donaldson, the president of CityServe, a non-profit organization where she has volunteered, welcomed what he described as Ivanka Trump's "compassion portfolio."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She'll continue to work with us on helping victims of disasters, wars – but why does somebody need to be in government to do that? The reality is that most of the compassion work being done around the world is outside government," Donaldson told CNN.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She posts frequently about her volunteer work on social media as she presents a new iteration of herself to her followers with glossy, polished photography.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She is very brand aware, very conscious of wanting to do something positive – and that's not a bad thing – but has a little bit of reputational build-up to accomplish and reach that bigger goal," said one crisis communications and reputational management expert.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I don't doubt the sincerity, but if I were advising her, I would just encourage her to take a little bit of the polish off."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump and Kushner have also returned to the world of real estate, developing luxury projects, including a 1,400-acre Albanian island that has garnered some </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/03/us/politics/trump-kushner-albania-hotels.html" rel="" target="" title=""><span>controversy</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's amazing to bring together all of this talent, and for me to be able to play around and flex the real estate muscles again and have some fun with it," Trump told Fridman.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And she is doing some "quiet investing in certain areas of interest," the source familiar with her thinking said, declining to provide additional details when pressed.</span></div></div>