WOULD CULT 45 VOTE FOR IVANKA?

We sure saw a lot of Ivanka Trump during her father's overseas trip, though it's hard to say precisely why.

The first daughter’s prominence in Japan and South Korea appeared to be by design — a sign of her influence with President Trump and the current absence of influential opponents within the administration.

It’s not clear, however, to what end....

Her ambitions are unknown — she demurs on any desire for public office.

Does she want to run for president? She's eligible now -- she's three months older than Pete Buttigieg. Two books have claimed that the presidency is her goal. Michael Wolff wrote this in Fire and Fury:

Balancing risk against reward, both Jared and Ivanka decided to accept roles in the West Wing over the advice of almost everyone they knew. It was a joint decision by the couple, and, in some sense, a joint job. Between themselves, the two had made an earnest deal: If sometime in the future the opportunity arose, she’d be the one to run for president. The first woman president, Ivanka entertained, would not be Hillary Clinton; it would be Ivanka Trump.

In Kushner, Inc. Vicky Ward wrote:

Ivanka Trump has made no secret of the fact hat she wants to be the most powerful woman in the world. Her father's reign in Washington DC is, she believes, the beginning of a great American dynasty. "She thinks she's going to be president of the United States," Gary Cohn told people after leaving the White House. "She thinks this is like the Kennedys, the Bushes, and now the Trumps."

I've long assumed that right-wing voters wouldn't accept her. Once her father is gone, they'll want another candidate who channels and amplifies their rage, who promises four years of liberal tears. That's not Ivanka, and there are dozens of Republicans eager to step into that role.

I still think that's the most likely outcome if Ivanka runs in 2024 (assuming her father is willing to cede the spotlight -- I think he'll attempt a comeback in 2024 if he loses the 2020 race and will make a serious effort to try to extend his term if he wins). There are too many rage monsters in the party -- Tom Cotton, Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Liz Cheney, as well as non-politicians such as, um, Donald Jr. Ivanka's too soft-spoken. She's moderate on a few issues.

The only thing that gives me pause is the increasingly cult-like nature of Trump worship. Rank-and-file right-wingers loved Ronald Reagan, and admired Nancy, but this didn't extend to Reagan's entire family. In 2017 the Trump cult was urged to be wary of Ivanka and her husband -- after Steve Bannon left the White House, he briefly returned to Breitbart and sought to try to drive the couple out of the White House -- but now Ivanka's presence in the right-wing media, at Breitbart and elsewhere, is as the glamorous child of the glorious Dear Leader.





The question by 2024 will be: Is the GOP a rage cult or a Trump cult? I think it will continue to be the former -- but if not, Ivanka has a real shot at the nomination.