‘PAINFUL’

Ivanka Trump Officially Breaks Her Weeks-Long Silence on Dad’s Conviction

“Ultimately, I wish it didn’t have to be this way,” she said on the The Lex Fridman Podcast.

Ivanka Trump, in her first sit-down interview that touched on her father’s felony conviction, said the ordeal has been “painful.”

Besides tapping out a brief message of support for former President Donald Trump in an Instagram story after the unanimous 34-count guilty verdict was announced in late May, Ivanka had stayed publicly quiet about the matter.

But on The Lex Fridman Podcast Tuesday, she offered up a few more of her thoughts.

The former White House adviser began by explaining why she is not currently as involved in politics as some of her other family members.

“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. And, you know, it’s a really rough business. So for me and my family, it feels right to not participate,” she said.

Fridman replied, “I think part of that darkness is just watching all the legal turmoil that’s going on. What’s it like for you to see your father involved in that, going through that?”

Trump reiterated her backing.

“On a human level, it’s my father and I love him very much, so it’s painful to experience,” she said. “But ultimately, I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

Ivanka Trump’s comments came the same day that her father’s sentencing was pushed back. The court had previously set a date of next Thursday, but rescheduled the matter to Sept. 18 following the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.

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