Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton have the type of relationship that fascinates me. It's the type of relationship that's only forged within the inner circles of the New York elite. I mean, how unreal is it that Trump and Clinton both ended up being daughters of presidents, but became friends before Donald Trump had even announced his candidacy? That's the stuff of soap operas, and Ivanka Trump's quotes about Chelsea Clinton show that it's just as dramatic.
Up until the election, the two had seemed pretty solid. They were friends years before and were seen at an awards ceremony in 2014 looking like good friends. But what was their friendship really like? Clinton was fairly vocal during the 2016 presidential election and after about their close and then not-so-close relationship, including that time in March 2018 when she did not hold back and said the two "had not spoken in a long time." But Trump's quotes paint a different picture. The way she has spoken to and about Clinton instead points to Trump being well-intentioned about maintaining the friendship, if distant. Knowing how things turned out, these quotes are definitely sweet. But also, let's be honest — just a little awkward.
Trump kept it short and sweet in one of her first public exchanges with Clinton, giving a nod to a quote that the former first daughter often gives during speeches and saying only "well said" on Instagram in June 2015.
While the election was ramping up, both women said they had been friends for years, and it seems pretty convincing. Earlier, in a 2015 interview with Vogue, Clinton had some kind words for Trump.
She’s always aware of everyone around her and ensuring that everyone is enjoying the moment. It’s an awareness that in some ways reminds me of my dad, and his ability to increase the joy of the room. There’s nothing skin-deep about Ivanka, and I think that’s a real tribute to her because certainly anyone as gorgeous as she is could have probably gone quite far being skin-deep.
Even before that, in November 2014, the two were photographed at the Glamour Women of the Year awards laughing and looking like they're having a ball. If it wasn't real, then that's some Olivia Pope level fixing.
A year and the launch of a campaign later, Trump's tune had changed a bit. In an interview with People in July 2016, she said the two were friendly, but admitted that it wasn't all sunshine and roses.
"There’s certainly tremendous intensity around both of our lives right now," she told the magazine.
I’m sure there was, especially considering that this was right around the time of the political conventions, when their respective parents were being named their party's candidate in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton was a vocal critic of Donald Trump and his campaign during the election, but she kept Trump out of her comments. Mostly.
At one point, Clinton did say that she and Trump “clearly” had different views, right before suggesting Trump's father was running a “divisive” and “bigoted” campaign. “Clearly, Ivanka and I have very different views about who we think should be our president, who we think best represents our country,” she told the TODAY Show on July 28, 2016.
Yep, that sounds pretty intense.
A month later, Trump was a little more affectionate toward the former first daughter. In an interview with Fox News on August 2, 2016, she said that they’d stayed close, but she didn't stop there. She also added that, although they support each other, there are a few topics they should probably avoid.
She said:
We’ve stayed close to one another, maybe a little less publicly so, but she’s a good friend. We support each other. We’re not the candidates. We’re the children of the candidates, and we both respect our parents. We never talked about politics before this campaign, and I think it’s probably a good topic to avoid talking about now.
That was probably a good idea.
Even after the election, Trump seemed to want to stay friends with Clinton. In an interview with 20/20 that aired on January 19, 2017, the night before the inauguration, Trump said they would still be friends and that she'd be calling her up some for firsthand, first daughter, advice soon. She said,
She's a very good friend of mine. She’s been a friend of mine long before the campaign, [and] of course will be a friend of mine after. I haven’t spoken about the specific challenges about this next chapter with her just yet, but I intend to.
Mm-hm.
But those intentions might have been the end of it. Since her dad took office, Trump has been relatively silent about Clinton and their friendship. Maybe the job caught up with her, and she doesn't have much time for an old friend. Or maybe, despite her seemingly good intentions, that she and that old friend were never quite as friendly as we thought.
Earlier this year, Clinton was pretty open about the fact that the friendship was, if not over, at least on hiatus.
"I have not spoken to her in a long time," Clinton said in an interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show in March. "It's clear, though, that she has supported policies and decisions that I don't agree with. I've been very vocal about my opposition to President Trump."
I guess the Chelsea/Ivanka friendship is just another emotional casualty of the Trump era.
Disclosure: Chelsea Clinton's husband Marc Mezvinsky joined Social Capital, an investor in Bustle Digital Group, in mid 2017 and joined the Board of Bustle Digital Group in early 2018.
