Courtesy of google.com
I was going to write about oil today, until I came across a scathing article about Ivanka Trump. At the Berlin conference on women entrepreneurship, which she attended as a guest of German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, the audience booed when she responded to a question about her father’s policies toward women.
Why those gathered imagined Ivanka should be Trump’s apologists, I don’t know. What I do know is a bond is natural between a daughter and a doting father. Donald Trump has given Ivanka a privileged life, money to start a multi-national fashion line and access to China’s consumer market while Facebook and Twitter stand in line. (Click) When she says, “I’m proud of my father’s advocacy,” and his support for “families and enabling them to thrive,” (Click), she believes what she says. She may be delusional, given her narrow perspective, but as far as I know, being privileged and protected isn’t a crime.
Let’s not beat up on Ivanka because she loves her dad and he loves her. That’s a good thing and may be the only virtue Trump can claim. What’s more, let us not forget, she supports the Paris Agreement and may influence her father on that score. By the way, except for Chevron, the big oil companies support the agreement, too. They’ve been working to reduce their carbon emissions and could lose their competitive edge in the world market if the U. S. drops out of the plan. (“Thanks to Ivanka, We May Always Have Paris,” by Jennifer A. Dlouhy et al., Bloomberg Businessweek, April 24-30, 2017 pg. 50.)
Aside from contradicting himself, which he does often, Trump risks nothing by listening to Ivanka. The Paris Agreement isn’t legally binding and there are no sanctions for failing to comply. (Ibid pg. 51.) A week after the conference, he can deny he agreed to anything, calling reports to that effect “fake news.” If Ivanka pouts, he knows how to please her. He’ll probably buy her a yacht.
