The Importance of Chelsea Clinton's Introducing Her Mother Tonight

PHILADELPHIA, Penn.— -- Chelsea Clinton may be a former first daughter, but she’ll be the second daughter to introduce her parent as a presidential candidate in two weeks.

Ivanka Trump, with whom Chelsea Clinton was reportedly close, was picked to give the speech immediately preceding her father when he accepted the Republican presidential nomination in Cleveland last week.

When Clinton takes the stage tonight to introduce Hillary Clinton, the comparisons between Chelsea Clinton and Ivanka Trump — both young mothers with careers who have grown up in the public eye — will be immediate.

And Clinton has already started to pick apart some of Ivanka Trump’s comments about how her father, Donald Trump, will “fight for equal pay for equal work and I will fight for this too, right alongside of him.”

At a panel discussion hosted by Glamour and Facebook on Tuesday, Clinton was asked how she would respond to her friend about her claims, answering the question with a question.

Chelsea Clinton Through the Years

1 of 32

Chelsea Clinton, embraces her mother, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, after introducing her on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 28, 2016.

Mark J. Terrill/AP

“How would your father do that, given it’s not something he’s spoken about? There are no policies on any of those fronts that you just mentioned on his website — not last week, not this week — so I think the ‘how’ question is super-important in politics, as it is in life,” Clinton said.

“It really matters to me that my mom in this election consistently has told you how she’s going to do everything, whether that’s on gun control or protecting a woman’s right to choose or any of the things we’ve talked about. She also tells you how she’s going to pay for it,” she said.

Chelsea Clinton, 36, has had experience introducing her mother on the campaign trail, but tonight’s speeches will clearly be the most important, history-making ones yet for both of them.

As was the case in Cleveland, convention attendees see the symbolic importance of having their candidate’s daughter make the introduction, and they view it as an advantage.

Nicole LaChapelle, a delegate from Massachusetts, said that it was especially notable since Hillary Clinton could have chosen to have her husband introduce her tonight rather than have him speak on Tuesday.

“Bravo to Bill Clinton,” LaChapelle told ABC News, for giving a “great speech, great tone, and then stepping aside and having Chelsea introduce her.”

“Chelsea has her own career. She has her own kids. Her husband isn’t overly involved in politics. And she’s jumping in, I feel, because it’s her mom and she feels she’s the best candidate,” LaChapelle said.

Chelsea Clinton doesn’t mince words when it comes to her support for her mother.

“I am deeply biased towards my mother,” she said at the Glamour and Facebook event.

“I think it’s really hard for any of us to imagine what we can’t see, so I am just really proud that little girls will be able to redirect their imaginations in other ways because [of] my mother,” she added.