Ivanka Trump brushes off hissing in Germany: ‘Politics is politics’

BERLIN -- Ivanka Trump brushed off the hissing that some audience members directed at her during the Women 20 Summit in Germany today when she expressed pride in her father’s advocacy of women, and specifically his campaign proposal for paid family leave.

“Politics is politics, as I’m learning,” Ivanka Trump said, taking questions from reporters after the panel discussion where she was jeered.

She then further defended her father as a “champion for all Americans,” including women.

Asked whether she thought the moderator’s questioning of her was a little tough, Ivanka shrugged it off: “I’m used to it. It’s fine.”

When the jeers erupted during the panel, the moderator referenced the crowd’s reaction in following up with Ivanka by noting that many people are suspicious of President Trump’s stated support for women’s empowerment.

“I’ve certainly heard the criticism from the media and that’s been perpetuated,” Ivanka said, prompting further heckling from some in the crowd at the panel on women’s entrepreneurship.

She went on to vouch for her father’s record in empowering women – pointing to his business and her own upbringing – as evidence of his belief in gender equality.

“As a daughter, I can speak on a very personal level knowing that he encouraged me and enabled me to thrive,” she said, noting that her father did not distinguish between how she and her brothers were treated at home.

Ivanka Trump participated in the panel along with other high-profile women, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who personally invited her to Germany for the summit, and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde.

Trump, 35, was also asked by the moderator whether she is representing her father, the U.S. people or her business.

“Certainly not the latter,” she said, going on to say the role as first daughter is still very new to her but that she’s looking for the best ways to empower women in the workplace.

She said she’ll bring the knowledge she gains at the summit back to her father.

She specifically pointed to equal pay and paid family leave as useful policies to help level the playing field for women, and noted that the United States is the only developed country without a paid family leave policy.

She also touted the cause of STEM education -- science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- for young women and girls.