City Scapes // Morgan Mackey

“If being complicit is wanting to… is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact then I’m complicit,” Ivanka Trump said in an interview with Gayle King. She had the tone of an annoyed teenager when her parents ask her why she’s home so late.

Those words will define Ivanka Trump for decades to come because of her recent vocabulary lesson to Americans last week. The First Daughter has been called complicit by many media outlets and the subject of a Saturday Night Live skit titled “Complicit.” She has gained the reputation of being complicit, which, according to Merriam-Webster, means “helping to commit a crime or do wrong in some way.” She’s earned this title because of how she chooses to deal with her father’s lack of respect for women in general.

Ivanka Trump prides herself on being a champion for women, especially those in the workplace but if we dig a little deeper, she’s just a champion for women who are like her. One of her platforms as first daughter and Special Assistant to the President is to have women obtain paid maternity leave. Yet, her paid maternity leave plan would only benefit women who already make a high income.

Since her father has been on the campaign trail and in office, Ivanka Trump has been silent on several of the controversies that surround him; leading to her complicit title of settling with the oppressor rather than fighting her father on his misogynistic beliefs. In the interview, she also discussed how if she disagreed with her father she would say something to him, but she has yet to disagree with him.

Ivanka Trump also stands on the platform that women should just pull themselves up by the bootstraps if they want to succeed in the business world. This mentality doesn’t always work, and women who don’t come from a wealthy background who are well-educated or have small million dollar loans can’t always just want something bad enough that it works out for them. There are so many factors that can prevent working women from having successful careers.

If Ivanka Trump wanted to do good, then she would stand up to her father and fight for all women, and not just women who are already at an advantage.