By Page Six | Created at 2025-01-15 15:57:40 | Updated at 2025-01-15 18:38:06
2 hours ago
Ivanka Trump said people walked out of her life during dad Donald Trump’s first presidential term.
The former first daughter was asked if she had lost friends when her family moved to Washington, DC, in 2017 while appearing on Monday’s episode of the “Skinny Confidential Him & Her” podcast.
“It was not friends. I definitely had some acquaintances who, you know, their politics diverged wildly from that of my father’s,” she admitted, adding, “They took things personally or got overly emotional.”
Ivanka, 43, noted that she wasn’t surprised by those who allowed politics to get in the way of their relationship.
“I’m actually really proud of the fact that — I think part of it was really growing up in the public eye, like, I had a pretty keen eye for what was real,” she said.
“And so the people that I had really let into my life over the years, it didn’t surprise me,” she continued of those who abandoned her. “And I feel really blessed by that because I have friends who, they don’t speak to half their family because the time was so emotional.”
Ivanka shared that she has never turned her back on friends for having different political views.
“I never judge someone by their politics. So, for me, it’s not a litmus test. So I would expect that back from you,” she said.
She explained that she has friends “from across the ideological spectrum.”
“I view conversations with those who disagree with me as, like, an opportunity to learn,” she said. “I may not agree with them, I may partially agree with them … I feel like that makes you a full human being —when you have people in your life who disagree.”
Ivanka believes that politics is only a “small part” of a person’s life.
“There are a lot of other areas where you can vehemently agree and so I focus on those,” she said.
Ivanka shared that the friendships she maintained throughout her father’s political reign became even stronger.
“On the friend front, I made these amazing friendships sort of forged in fire, because you’re really being thrown into a lot of intensity,” she said. “So you really see who will be with you in a foxhole.”
While Ivanka continued to be friends with those who had political differences, she did recall warning her besties that she may not be able to be as present when she went to the White House.
“I basically told a lot of my closest friends when I went to Washington, I’m like, ‘I’m going to have the bandwidth for work and for family and so, like, I really am going to try not to be a bad friend to you the next few years but give me some grace,’” she recalled.
Ivanka, who shares three kids with husband Jared Kushner, told her pals that she would be there for them if “things are bad” but that she “may miss a lot of the celebrations.”
“And what I realized coming out is that you need the birthdays too,” she said. “You need both.”
Ivanka will reprise her role as first daughter once the president-elect, 78, is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
Some of Ivanka’s closet pals include Kim Kardashian and Hugh Jackman.
