Ivanka Trump appeared with her father Donald Trump at the White House Tuesday for a small business event, where the president once again credited her with creating millions of jobs.
The First Daughter, who skipped town in mid-April to travel to her father’s New Jersey golf course on the first day of Passover, appeared with him East Room for an event touting loans to small businesses.
The government has been trying to shovel out billions to keep people employed, although the program has seen blowback after publicly traded companies also got loans worth millions.
Trump once again lauded his daughter’s work on a job training program, once again implying she put millions of Americans back to work, with a figure that would have her responsible for a large chunk of all U.S. job gains before the coronavirus outbreak.
‘That’s what she wants to do. She wants to help people,’ said Trump. ‘From the beginning of my administration, Ivanka has used her experience as an entrepreneur to fight for the American worker. She has created many jobs. That’s what she did when she first came in,’ he said.
‘She just wanted people to jobs and job training. Went to the biggest companies anywhere in the world that are located in our country. And they would take hundreds of thousands of people and train them. And think you got up to almost 15 million people. She started off with a goal of 500,000. She wanted to get 500,000 and she is now on almost 15 million people,’ Trump said, before inviting her to the podium.
BACK IN ACTION: President Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump arrive to speak at an event about the Paycheck Protection Program used to support small businesses during the coronavirus outbreak, in the East Room of the White House, April 28, 2020, in Washington. Ivanka traveled to Bedminster, New Jersey in mid-April
Return to work: Ivanka Trump had not been seen at the White House since before Passover and had then gone to her second home on her father’s Bedminster golf course in New Jersey, despite urging others to stay home
On their way: Donald and Ivanka Trump arrive for an event highlighting small businesses which have received bailout funds from the paycheck protection program – which has been widely criticized for going to publicly traded companies like Shake Shack and big businesses like the LA Lakers
Handover: Donald Trump invited his daughter Ivanka to speak at the event. She had not been seen at the White House for more than two weeks
Socially-distanced: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was in the front row of the East Room of the White House, where chairs were placed more than six feet apart in line with CDC guidelines
The first daughter did not correct her father for crediting her with millions of job gains
‘She has created many jobs. That’s what she did when she first came in,’ Trump said, then again raising the 15 million figure
Ivanka Trump speaks during an event about the Paycheck Protection Program used to support small businesses during the coronavirus outbreak, in the East Room of the White House, April 28, 2020, in Washington
President Donald Trump is accompanied by White House senior advisor and daughter Ivanka Trump in the Cross Hall as he arrives to speak about Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for small businesses adversely affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., April 28, 2020
Touching moment: Amy Wright, the CEO and founder of Bitty & Beau’s Coffee Shop – a mini-chain based in Wilmington, North Carolina – was at the White House to highlight the small business bailout which has allowed her to keep more than 100 employees of the business on the payroll. It offers employment to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, including Michael Heup (second left)
Thanks: Michael Heup, one of the workers at Bitty & Beau’s Coffee, offered thanks to Donald Trump for the help which has allowed Amy Wright to re-hire furloughed workers
Hail to the chief: Michael Heup, an employee at Bitty & Beau’s coffee shops, thanked Donald Trump with a salute. THe president later described him as the ‘star’ of the event
Trademark move: Michael Heup, an employee at Bitty & Beau’s coffee shops, followed his salute to Donald Trump with a thumbs-up
Highlighting role: Ivanka Trump was on the dais alongside Steve Mnuchin, whose Treasury Department is responsible for the $2 trillion bailout
Keeping going: Ali Mills, vice-president of family-owned Plum Contracting of Pittsburgh, PA, was one of the small business representatives at the White House
Doctor Chris Stansbury, co-founder of West Virginia Eye Consultants, a mini-chain in the state, thanked the federal government for assistance, while Trump joked that he may go to him for his next consultation
Ending: Donald Trump and Ivanka leave the East Room after the event to highlight small business
Ivanka Trump went to her second home in New Jersey for Passover with Jared and their children – after pleading with Americans ‘please, please stay at home’
In this file photo White House senior advisors Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner arrive at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020
The first daughter urged Americans to ‘please stay home’ to try to contain the spread of the virus
The credit was softened somewhat from earlier this month, when Trump said at a small business event: ‘She created over 15 million jobs working with some of you, but working with the biggest companies in the world.’
When Ivanka spoke, she did not correct her father for crediting her with millions of job gains. ‘Thank you, Mr. president for convening this incredible group of entrepreneurs and small business owners who very much represent the soul and the spirit, the grit and the tenacity of America’s small business owners across the nation,’ she said.
The figure would represent 10 per cent of all U.S. jobs before the pandemic and resulting closures led to millions of new unemployment claims.
A Washington Post fact checker noted that Ivanka co-chaired a task force on job training initiatives, which had companies pledging to provide 6.5 million job training opportunities – but not 15 million new jobs.
She wore a Gabriella Hearts silk cashmere jump suit that goes for $3,200.
Ivanka also led a coronavirus response call with New Jersey officials Tuesday, the New York Post reported.
Ivanka and her immediate family sidestepped DC’s stay-home order prohibiting non-essential travel in mid-April when they traveled to the president’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. She hasn’t been seen at her Washington, D.C. home since then, although husband Jared Kushner has been spotted.
They appear to have spent days in social isolation at Bedminister while Jared Kushner remained at the family’s rented multi-million dollar Washington, D.C. home.
Before she left town, Ivanka used Twitter to post pictures of a sewing project to fashion face masks for her children.
First daughter and senior White House advisor Ivanka Trump offered a suggestion for bored Americans to do during the COVID-19 shutdowns.She suggested people, “try making shadow puppets from Henry Bursill’s recently unearthed 1860’s book of engraving”
She posted photos of her creations shortly before decamping for New Jersey