Sarah Huckabee Sanders' Most Desperate Attempts To Get On Ivanka Trump's Good Side

During President Donald Trump's first term, he had a series of four White House press secretaries, among them was Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the governor of Arkansas as of this report. As White House press secretary to a loudmouth crew like the Trump family, it was certain that Sanders had her work cut out for her. But one family member in particular seemingly caught Sanders' eye over the rest. Maybe it was Ivanka Trump's cool girl persona and lavish lifestyle, or the eldest Trump daughter's larger-than-life family that drew Sanders to the businesswoman's side. Whatever it was that bonded the two together, the relationship left quite the impact on Sanders who threw herself to Ivanka's defense whenever the time called for it. 

During her time working in the White House, and even after the government official announced her resignation, Sanders positioned herself as a proud and outspoken supporter of Trump's first-born. Her endless buttering-up of Ivanka could all be an attempt to earn Sanders some MAGA cred (though those ties have let her down in the past), but the constant defense ended up coming off as a bit of a crazed fan. 

By October 2017, President Donald Trump was nearing the end of his first year as president. With his newfound position, those around him, especially his children, received great media scrutiny. After some coverage on the eldest Trump daughter developed headlines that the White House found less than favorable, Sarah Huckabee Sanders took to her defense. Joining the "Hugh Hewitt Show", Sanders addressed the news outlet's write-ups in an on-air rant. 

"I think it's shameful the way that she's been treated. If she didn't have the same last name, they would be celebrating her," she started off her defense of Ivanka Trump. But the response soon fell into a borderline sycophantic speech. "They would be praising her. They would be thanking God that she is sitting in a position that she is to influence policy and help women across this country," Sanders added.

Her applause for Trump was far from over. "I think it's very shameful, and I think it's sad because she's such a good advocate for so many women. And for them to attack her, I think, is just really disheartening," Sanders shared. It's clear that the former White House press secretary was ablaze with fury over the growing media criticism of the Trump daughter, but her heated and long-winded response was a hefty response for a universal experience in politics: media coverage. 

In the second year of the president's term, in May 2018, comedian and "Full Frontal" host, Samantha Bee, aired an episode of her TBS show that featured a bit of name-calling toward Ivanka Trump. The president's daughter had shared a tweet of a photo capturing both her and her son. The photo came off as a little tactless, given Donald Trump's immigration policies that were separating families and holding kids in cages. Fueled by the inappropriate tweet, Bee took to her show to refer to Ivanka as a "feckless c***". The comedian's joke continued to suggest that with her power, as Ivanka was an advisor to the president at the time, the Trump daughter could prevent further separations from happening. 

Trump is not the only one in the family to have a host of nicknames thrown her way, so Sarah Huckabee Sanders' choice to address this specific incident felt a little like the press secretary was attempting to kiss up to the politician's daughter. During a press conference, Sanders denounced Bee's language and behavior, describing it as "vile and vicious" before calling for Bee (or her show) to be removed from the air. "Her disgusting comments and show are not fit for broadcast," the communications lead condemned (via CNN). "And executives at Time Warner and TBS must demonstrate that such explicit profanity about female members of this administration will not be condoned on its network."

In June 2019, Sarah Huckabee Sanders was out and Melania Trump's senior aide, Stephanie Grisham, was in. The governor of Arkansas resigned from her role in the White House, but seemingly couldn't give up the Trump supporter title. In late June, the G20 summit, an event for country leaders to meet and discuss important points in diplomacy, was held. Among those attending were official names like French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, and — no, not the president of the United States — Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter. 

The Trump daughter's attendance did not leave a good taste in New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who took to X (formerly Twitter) to share her thoughts on the decision to send an advisor to the president and not the president himself. "It hurts our diplomatic standing when the President phones it in & the world moves on," the representative wrote in her tweet. These remarks came after Ocasio-Cortez's swing at Trump, "It may be shocking to some, but being someone's daughter actually isn't a career qualification."

The social media post ruffled a few feathers, included Sanders who bashed AOC in response. "Phoning it in @AOC is wasting your time on Twitter while destroying jobs in NY," Sanders tweeted. Sanders' response, having little to do with the original tweet, also praised the Trump daughter for their creation of millions of jobs in the US.