From "The Princess vs. the Portrait in Trumpworld/The first family serves up a malarkey buffet" by Maureen Dowd (NYT).
Here's the excerpt about "Block Ivanka" from the Wolkoff book (published at New York Magazine)(warning: the author herself calls it "petty"):
Ivanka texted me a photo of Barack Obama’s swearing-in, his hand on the Bible, Michelle, Malia, and Sasha standing to his left. She wrote, “FYI regarding the swearing in. It is nice to have family with him for this special moment.”
Instead, Melania and I launched Operation Block Ivanka to keep her face out of that iconic “special moment.” To plan this, I needed to know exactly where the family would be seated and the camera angles. [An executive at Wolkoff's media company] sent me notes from the walk-through. He had been prohibited from taking pictures; instead, he’d drawn a sketch to give me a decent overview of the Trump section and where the chairs would be positioned in a semicircle around the dais. We knew where the cameras would be located because the platforms were already in place. Using his sketch, we were able to figure out whose face would be visible when Donald and Melania sat in their seats, and then when the family stood with Chief Justice John Roberts for Donald to take the oath of office. If Ivanka was not on the aisle, her face would be hidden while she was seated. For the standing part, we put Barron between Donald and Melania and made sure that Don Jr. stood next to Melania, not Ivanka.
We were all exhausted and stressed out. Yes, Operation Block Ivanka was petty. Melania was in on this mission. But in our minds, Ivanka shouldn’t have made herself the center of attention in her father’s inauguration.
84 comments:
Fuck NYT, NOW they do a story about Melania?
Fuck NYT
Mind-reading is not allowed. We should all call it out when it happens.
Mo Do talks cat fights. Whoopy Doo!
Is the NYT becoming a gossip tabloid?
Imagine your best friend writing a dishy book about you.
People are terrible.
Why Trump relies too much on family. Every other person he has places any trust in has stabbed him in the back. They are all DC backstabbers.
wow - a whole column an a big nothing.
Now do Joe and Hunter - Ukrainian energy company, tax payer money washed clean, and Hunter's lavish life. and the Biden's wholesale denial.
Two thoughts:
1. Melania better realize Ivanka is the true love of Trump’s life or else she’ll end up just another Trump ex.
2. Hillary Clinton is still not President.
An entirely predictable cat fight among the rich and famous. No one really ought to care. But it sells books. Suburban women will no doubt slurp this up.
I gotta say, I'm over Ivanka myself. She does seem to make this about her. It's enough to have her father make everything about himself. But he's the President and many Presidents have done just that (think: Obama). Ivanka's speech the other night was stale, delivered in a stale, unfeeling performance. She's too...perfectly set. It's annoying. She and her husband have probably moved Trump to some very strong moves. But Kushner behind the scenes is one thing. Ivanka playing assistant President is another.
I can, however, deal with it for 4 More Years. I suspect if there is rumor of an issue between Ivanka and Melania, it's probably true. And probably doesn't matter much at all.
Is there a run if the video past three seconds? To
me it looked like someone else caught her attention or was trying to catch her attention. The notion she gave Ivanka a fake smile is absurd...
If I won the White House, everyone in my extended family would pull together as one, without a whiff of pettiness. Your family too, huh?
So at least gossipy progressives are resigning themselves now to four more years. Is that what they’re saying?
This is me being helpful: sources are probably all people who "are close to the White House" -- namely Democratic Operatives that happen to be standing on Pennsylvania Ave (holding a protest sign) when they were interviewed. Said "someone close to Ivanka" -- that is, who lives next door. According to "a family friend" -- who grew up with Melania and hasn't seen her in 25 years. (They always leave out the former qualifier!)
Meh. Who cares?
The basic view in the building is that Ivanka has wrestled Melania to a draw.
They should monetize the basic view to pay for view.
More gossip from the NYT. They have no shame.
an = on
Every other person he has places any trust in has stabbed him in the back. They are all DC backstabbers.
Year one he could use that excuse. Lack of loyalty now reflects on his managerial skills. There are plenty of qualified people outside of the Beltway,
This is what Dowd is reduced to? Cattily broadcasting Trump family gossip? I guess that’s because there is nothing important going on in the USA for her to write about. No riots. No looting. No large scale arson.
Why pay for the NYT when Althouse will blog half of it?
Earnest, may I add:
3. Harris will never be president, either.
Oh, dear Gawd!! An entire column about interpreting facial expressions, and evaluating relationships based on those interpretations.
The news dies in MoDo's pettiness.
Lord help us if this sways even a single voter.
I cannot imagine why anyone would want to publish that book, or why the NYT would want to review and excerpt it except as a hit piece.
And it really doesn't work as a hit piece, either, tho one who is ideologically blinded like the NYT might think it does.
Sad, all around.
arnest Prole said...
Two thoughts:
1. Melania better realize Ivanka is the true love of Trump’s life or else she’ll end up just another Trump ex.
I assume you have no daughters.
I don't GAS. Do you?
Is MoDo helping Stephanie Winston Wolkoff "get even" with the NYT writers who assailed her?
How come all these catty writers never expose the palace intrigue at the New York Times?
Who gets called out in Wolkoff's j'accuse?
Soon, the New York Times posted a story and headline, based on White House "sources," that left the impression, Wolkoff believes, that the first lady had handed her "party planner" pal a cushy job, and that she had raked in millions and been fired as a consequence. In fact, she had already resigned out of exhaustion and ill health.
Some of Wolkoff's targets include The New York Times' White House reporter Maggie Haberman and CNN's Kate Bennett, who covers FLOTUS full time. Wolkoff believes they published sloppy and inaccurate stories about her and Melania Trump, and goes into detail in explaining how.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2020/08/29/revenge-tell-all-book-melania-me-stephanie-winston-wolkoff/5667665002/
I would not believe anything that Maureen Dowd says. She needs to be avoided. It's people like her that keep these hateful ideas about Trump and family alive. Shame!
The NYT is morphing in to the Daily Mail. As for the book, why waste money on it when you can read the cliff notes version in the DM.
I suppose one could ask why we need a diversion to this in MoDo world. Oh yeah. There is blood in the streets in Portland and Chicago, and Trump is winning.
I love Melania, and Ivanka is OK. I am sure Trump loves them both. The palace eunuchs are always full of malice and gossip.
Two thoughts:
1. My own family had enough of its own jealousies. I don't need to hear about what goes on behind the scenes in Trumpville.
2. What mattered at the Inauguration was that Trump won the election and is president.
For whatever reason Ivanka is getting negative media coverage even though she is doing big worthwhile projects. For instance: "President Donald Trump’s 2020 budget proposal will include $100 million for a global women’s fund spearheaded by his daughter Ivanka Trump." <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2020/08/11/ivanka-trump-122-million-grants-for-womens-economic-empowerment-initiative/>Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative</a>
Not my problem. The NY Times is written for women and is a poor match for my pronouns.
I recommend the two go hiking together in Colorado. I'll email with the the time and place.
Remember all that Dowd Snark about the Obama's? Neither do I. Personally, i dislike Ivanka, but she seems to be very aggressive, smart, and ambitious. Lazy 'nice guys' get nowhere in politics. They get run over.
MoDo is pushing 70. No husband in sight. No boyfriend either. She wishes had a Donald or Jared in her life. Sigh......
BTW, I always thought Ivanka was her daughter. Of course, now that i think about it, that doesn't make much sense. But then I don't really care that much.
Daddy’s newest wife gets no respect from his grown kids. Surprise, surprise. But the woman he sleeps with will win 100% of the time. MoDo understands women.
remember! a Potus' family, is OFF LIMITS in the press... unless the Potus is a republican
seriously, think we'll Ever see a story like this; about Dr Jill (the greatest doctor On Earth!)??
Wow, this is the very first time I have ever heard of conflict between a stepmother and a stepdaughter... yet another first for the Trumps.
"Melania calls Ivanka 'the princess' . . . and Ivanka has reportedly called Melania 'the portrait.'"
Both pretty accurate. So?
As political families go, Trump has a good bunch. Is there any better? Kennedy, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush -- no, don't say Bush, please.
Anyway, I'm sure they'll dissect the Biden family dynamics just as eagerly. Inquiring minds want to know: what does the stripper think about Dr. Jill?
Year one he could use that excuse. Lack of loyalty now reflects on his managerial skills. There are plenty of qualified people outside of the Beltway,
Yes, I'm sure you could do a better job.
"The basic view in the building is that Ivanka has wrestled Melania to a draw.
They should monetize the basic view to pay for view."
Baby oil or Jello?
I'm old enough to remember Billy Carter getting picked up for peeing in public. I'm old enough to remember the Carter kids smoking pot in the Whitehouse. I'm old enough to remember Bill Clinton spilling his seed on a twenty three year old intern's blue dress. Call me back, Mo, when got something worth reading.
The dogs that don't bark: I wonder what the Gore kids thought about their parents' divorce. Did Chelsea ever talk to a friend about what she thought of her father's dalliances? Are there any rivalries or ripples among Kerry's stepchildren?....I guess after Linda Tripp people who are privy to Dem gossip have learned to keep their mouths shut....You've got to hand it to the Dems. They really know how to keep the lid on. It was a long time before we heard about JFK's indiscretions. I've never read a report about what some friend or relative of Mary Jo thinks of Teddy Kennedy. The Dem/media alliance works in many and varied ways.
Every time Maureen Dowd uses her worldwide platform to gossip about catfights between women, I feel like the feminist movement was really worth it.
How did DJT miss giving her the obvious nickname, Maureen Dud?
Melania’s former BFF
Can you be a former BFF? "Former" negates the "forever" part, doesn't it?
I cannot believe that MoDo would write such a thing. Her and her employer have such high standards of newsworthiness, and staying unbiased about politics, and the Presidency.
Just dreadful. This First Lady isn't particularly fond of someone and deceitfully tries to hide her true feelings behind smiles. Unlike our previous First Lady who isn't particularly fond of most Americans, but who honestly and graciously tells us so right out loud.
I love Melania, and Ivanka is OK. I am sure Trump loves them both. The palace eunuchs are always full of malice and gossip.
Who are the “eunuchs” in this case?
The point of Dowd’s column is the clear attempt to establish a Trump political dynasty, with Ivanka front and center. The influence she and Jared exercise in the West Wing and over Trump has been awful. A wife vying with her stepdaughter the husband’s attention and favor is not an unfamiliar dynamic. But when the husband is the president as malleable as Trump with a daughter as ambitious as Ivanka, it is a cause for concern.
Exactly, and we all see it the same way. This is not news to anybody who knows people in familes.
OMG DADDY'S GIRL! To the gallows with Melania!. Sidebar... my wife refuses the title of "Princess", opting instead for "Empress".
Michael K @ 9:51 wins the thread!
Amexpat, like so many leftists, has no idea what any Trump supporter has to go through to move to DC and environs to serve in the administration. No, it's just "managerial skills."
Idiots everywhere.
A frontal assault didn't work, so they regrouped for a flank attack, progressively a terrorist action. They tried to do that to Palin, and despite their social high ground, and perhaps they occupy the moral low ground, her lawsuit has progressed.
vapid left
Dowd is the dog that keeps barking after the caravan has gone over the hill and out of sight.
Admittedly, there are more than a few men that dream about proving themselves the baddest mf on the planet long after their teenage years. Blame an excess of testosterone, blame the euphoria of holding a gun, blame Napoleonic history for putting an emperor's scepter in every soldier's backpack.
But at least most grow out of the adolescent fantasies that fuel youthful teen machismo. You can give any number of titles and honors to women, you can pump them full of ten years of post-secondary education, but at the end the vast majority will still be as catty and petty as they were when they peaked in high school. This does have an advantage, though. The white shriekers that make up a substantial portion of the Antifa mob will fold instantly when they take their first real punch, or feel the weight of a live round zip past their face.
By the way, both Melania and Ivanka Trump have been subjected to four years of pressure that would frankly kill weaker women. If they weren't firm allies before, they certainly are now. What this does is remind men that lesser women will turn on each other over the slightest pretext. Which is wisdom I am grateful for.
Welllllllllllllll, if MoDo wrote it, I don't believe it After all, she DOES write for the NYT, which I despise, detest, and distrust.
"Lord help us if this sways even a single voter."
It keeps people inside the bubble from exploring what's outside of the bubble.
Seems like MoDo's been bingeing on The Crown recently
Apparently "Trump's White House is Dysfunctional" came up on the NYT assignment wheel the other day and this was all they could find.
Unfortunately for the true believers, both the male and lesbian readership of the Times is sexually aroused at the prospect of a Melania-Ivanka pillow fight.
Let's examine all the family dynamics.
If we're going to look inside this one, let's discuss all of them.
How does Joe Biden get along with his newest grandkid, for example?
How did Jill Biden react when she first held her newest grand baby?
Please describe how the Bidens respond to the former stripper who is the mother of their newest grand baby.
Finally (for me) how did the Bidens respond when Hunter married Beau's ex-wife?
Michael K notes "I assume you have no daughters". Well said Michael.
I have two daughters myself--or I should say my wife and I have two daughters.
And yes Daddy's little girl (and my granddaughter) by and large can have anything they want and most of their sins (other than political) can be forgiven by me. And as for their liberalism, well we don't talk about that.
Doesn't mean that I don't love my wife.
Kevin said...
Apparently "Trump's White House is Dysfunctional" came up on the NYT assignment wheel the other day and this was all they could find.
There is that.
There is also the desire to change the discussion away from the Marxists who control urban streets, universities and increasingly the Democrat Party.
They could talk about Joe Biden's grand vision for America, but that would be a joke, wouldn't it?
Yes, I'm sure you could do a better job.
Lame argument.
Amexpat,like so many leftists, has no idea what any Trump supporter has to go through to move to DC and environs to serve in the administration. No, it's just "managerial skills."
Wrong on the leftist bit. But now that you're a full fledged member of the 5th Avenue Club, anyone who says anything critical about Trump is automatically a rabid leftist with a serious case of TDS.
No doubt the toxic environment in DC dissuades many from serving. But there's no shortage of those willing to do so.
Idiots everywhere.
True. Any mirror you look at.
I'll stop here. Don't want to get into a flame war with you. I remember you writing a farewell here when things got out of hand with a fruitless flame war you got into with someone here.
The NYT is just the National Enquirer “in drag.” Maureen Dowd is obviously aware of this.
Many of us have been aware of it for some time.
“ ‘The basic view in the building is that Ivanka has wrestled Melania to a draw.’ ”
I’d pay good money to watch that. Just sayin’.
Apparently it is unique to the Trumps for there to be any jealously between a daughter of a first marriage and a later young wife. Never happened before until now.
I did some research. Apparently it really is true that the Chinese ideograph for “trouble” or “dispute” is two characters representing “woman” under a horizontal bar, i.e., two women under one roof. Worth contemplation. Frankly, I think both women are effective representatives of the Trump administration.
This is typical stuff between other spouses and step kids. "my Mom was the best". If all this is true, it's Ivanka's childish emotions towards her Dad's other spouses. I bet there's friction between her and Tiffany.
Message received. One is “stony” and the other “strident” (well... she “strode,” anyway)
Maureen Dowd was at least interesting in the Clinton/Lewinsky era. Since, not so much.
Finally (for me) how did the Bidens respond when Hunter married Beau's ex-wife?
He didn't marry her, he just dated/slept with her. At the same time he was sleeping with the woman who had his child. He married a third woman. You know, the usual stuff. Nothing to see here.
I remember you writing a farewell here when things got out of hand with a fruitless flame war you got into with someone here.
I don't get in "flame wars" but I do object to poor reasoning. So far you seem to have trouble understanding a major problem for Trump. Also you have a snarky way of expressing your opinion, usually negative toward anything Trump or American.
Have a nice day.
But now that you're a full fledged member of the 5th Avenue Club, anyone who says anything critical about Trump is automatically a rabid leftist with a serious case of TDS.
It is interesting to see how those who are Trump haters see the others who think he is doing a good job under enormous stress.
Women love to 'dish'. Can we begin a discussion about the 19th Amendment? And the 26th.
Who gives a shit?
Forget whatever wrangling there is between Melania and Ivanka, someone should have told Stephanie Winston Wolkoff to keep her trap shut. It's a disgrace that she can't be bothered to do the honorable thing and remain silent. But treachery like this comes naturally to females.
Also you have a snarky way of expressing your opinion, usually negative toward anything Trump or American.
Wrong again. I've expressed more negative opinions here about Biden and the Dems than Trump.
It's rich that you accuse someone of being snarky.
If criticizing a President makes one anti-American, than most of the commenters here were downright anti-American during the Obama administration.
“The point of Dowd’s column is the clear attempt to establish a Trump political dynasty, with Ivanka front and center. The influence she and Jared exercise in the West Wing and over Trump has been awful. A wife vying with her stepdaughter the husband’s attention and favor is not an unfamiliar dynamic. But when the husband is the president as malleable as Trump with a daughter as ambitious as Ivanka, it is a cause for concern.”
Sure, there may be some friction between the a First Daughter and the First Wife, but it doesn’t look any worse than usual in that sort of case.
I disagree though about the Kushners. My view is that probably no one in the world over the last 5 years has deserved the Nobel Peace Prise than Trump. And he can blame much of that on his son in law, Jared Kushner. Iran has been effectively isolated, and put under significant economic pressure. Israel and the Saudis were reconciled through his efforts, and his friendship with the Saudi crown prince. And now he has brought Israel and the UAE together. We are mostly out of Iraq and on the way there in Afghanistan. That leaves the mess that Croojed Hillary and Obama made of Syria. They screwed up their planned Regime Change, then Clinton’s replacement, Lurch Kerry, made it worse by switching US policy from preferring the Muslim Brotherhood Sunnis to the Iranian Shi’a. Syria (and its client state, Lebanon, are now failed states. Still, we are mostly out, and the Sunni Turks are again fighting the Shi’a Persians, through proxies for control of that part of the Middle East.
Michael said...
Maureen Dowd was at least interesting in the Clinton/Lewinsky era. Since, not so much.
She's had to deal with some realities:
1. She couldn't get a man to stay with her.
2. She'll always be the "cool aunt" to all her brother's and sister's children.
3. She'll die alone, without even memories of a family of her own.
4. Her political wit has failed her.
5. Like Dorothy Parker, she envies the male writers around her, and it burns.
Bruce Hayden,
Thank you. Well put.
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