Ivanka Trump said Tuesday she is spending her time at home the same as other Americans coping with the coronavirus outbreak and stay-at-home orders – by taking a course on mythology and rereading ‘The Odyssey.’
Trump, eldest daughter and senior adviser to President Donald Trump, said she’s going through what ‘every parent’ is dealing with in the midst of the pandemic.
‘I’ve been doing everything I can,’ Trump told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday in a remote video interview. ‘I have been working from home when I can, coming in only when I need to. I’m doing as much telephonically as possible.’
She also said she wanted to use the extra time social distancing to ‘expand my own mind and explore things I normally wouldn’t have prioritized.’
‘So I’ve got a Coursera free course going in Greek and Roman mythology,’ she said in listing what she does to pass the time. ‘So I’m rereading ‘The Odyssey,’ and started to learn to play the guitar. And now I’m really working on it, as I sit with my kids and when they’re asleep or napping. That’s what I’m doing.’
Ivanka Trump said Tuesday that she is just like ‘every parent around the country’ as she deals with heightened time at home with her three children in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak
She also told Yahoo Finance during an interview Tuesday that she was trying to use the time to ‘expand my own mind and explore things I normally wouldn’t have prioritized’
She said this included taking a ‘free course going in Greek and Roman mythology,’ and rereading ‘The Odyssey,’ as well as learning to play the guitar
The U.S. death toll from coronavirus surpassed 3,000 on Tuesday
Coursera also is offering a free Greek and Roman mythology course through University of Pennsylvania, her alma mater, which includes quizzes at the end of each week.
Trump has also posted pictures since social distancing orders were put in place earlier this month at her Washington D.C. home with her three children. One image shows her underneath a blanket fort with her daughter and another is a video of all three kids washing their hands together while singing the ABC’s.
As the coronavirus continues to rock the nation, the death toll surpassed 3,000 in the U.S. on Tuesday, and last week the unemployment claims reached an all-time-high after more than 3 million people filed for benefits.
The president signed a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus package on Friday to provide financial relief for companies, individuals and small businesses.
Some argue, however, that more needs to be done to save small businesses that are shuttering by the thousands in the wake of the outbreak, leaving many without jobs.
Trump said she is doing her part to help with small businesses and urges others to do the same.
‘Individually, we all have a part to play in this, right,’ she told Yahoo Finance’s Sibile Marcellus in an interview Tuesday. :So I think it’s really awesome to hear from so many people who are thinking about creative ways – those who have the means to do so — to support small business within their communities. Whether it’s pre-paying for a service that they know they’re going to avail themselves of sometime in the next 6 to 12 months.’
‘I did it on a personal level with my local dry cleaner and my local florist, just to sort of assist in a small way during during this time,’ Trump shared.
Ivanka posted an image earlier this month of her helping her daughter create a blanket fort, recommending it as a pass time for parents stuck at home for long periods of time with their kids
‘So it’s really heartening to see that even people, you know, buying local produce and being really cognizant of that when they go to the grocery store to support farms and local protein and then freezing it. So there’s a lot we can do individually,’ she continued.
Trump also touted the bill her father signed last week, claiming it all $2.2 trillion are ‘going directly to workers, frontline responders and small businesses.’
Donald Trump extended the guidelines for social distancing to stop the spread on Sunday, extending it another 30 days.
He also said that rather than the country being up and running by Easter, which is April 12, the number of coronavirus cases and deaths are likely to peak to their highest point during that time.
Democrats and Donald Trump have both floated a phase four coronavirus relief bill, which the president says could be another $2 trillion proposal – this time with measures for funding infrastructure.
Meanwhile, many states have issued stay-at-home orders, some extending into June, to stop the spread of the respiratory disease and minimize the impact.
Ivanka said she is working to see the heightened time with her family ‘through the lens of joy.’
‘I’ve got three young kids who are growing more restless by the day, which I’m sure is an experience, many of – pretty much every parent around the country is going through,’ she said. ‘So it’s a unique time but I’m trying to reframe all of it through the lens of the joy of having this family connectivity even if it’s sometimes toxic.’