Where's Ivanka Trump? Former first daughter has been absent from her father's rallies, speeches

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When she was first daughter of the United States, Ivanka Trump was very much in the public eye.

Now that her father is seeking re-election, Ivanka Trump has kept a low profile.

As Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential candidate, travels the country for rallies and speeches in the presidential race against Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, Ivanka Trump has been noticeably absent. It's contrary to the 2016 and 2020 elections, when she made several public appearances alongside her father. Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, even served as senior advisers during the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021. Though government officials are not supposed to engage in political campaigning, that didn't stop Ivanka Trump from making two Florida campaign appearances in October 2020 for her father.

Kushner and Ivanka Trump had roles created for them during their time in office, and both roles were eliminated after President Biden won the 2020 election.

Around that time, the couple relocated from New York to Florida − as did the rest of the Trump family.

When Donald Trump declared a third bid for the presidency in November 2022 − amid his legal troubles in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case − the couple decided to take a step back from politics to focus on family.

Ivanka Trump's decision to distance herself from the campaign spotlight is similar to that of her stepmother: Former first lady Melania Trump has also been noticeably absent from Donald Trump's rallies and speeches. However, Melania Trump has racked up more campaign appearances and fundraisers to support the former president in 2024 compared with his eldest daughter.

Here's a look back at Ivanka Trump's support in past elections compared to 2024 as her father seeks another four years in the White House.

Trump speech at Mar-a-Lago hours after arrest in Stormy Daniels hush-money case: Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump weren’t there

The Palm Beach Post has covered Trump as a celebrity and longtime Palm Beach County resident (arguably the most famous on "the Island"). The Post's reporters have analyzed his political clout during his presidential campaign, his subsequent win in 2016 and how he turned his private club Mar-a-Lago into the "Southern White House" when he was in office. The Palm Beach Post covered his re-election campaign and subsequent loss in the 2020 election and when he came back to Palm Beach as a Florida resident in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, violence, reasserting himself as political kingmaker amid ongoing controversies over Mar-a-Lago documents and other matters.

On April 4, 2023, Trump spoke at Mar-a-Lago hours after his arrest in New York in the Stormy Daniels-hush money case. Palm Beach Post politics and business editor Antonio Fins noted: To be honest, there were some noticeable differences after Trump's appearance at Mar-a-Lago. Despite the gravity of the moment, the ambiance was festive.

The former first lady did not walk by the crowd at the private club ahead of her husband's address. And she wasn't mentioned either. Donald Trump Jr., accompanied by fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Eric Trump, accompanied by spouse Lara Trump, were seated in the front row along with other Trump World stars. Trump spent a minute during the speech to shout-out his children, but did not mention his spouse.

Trump spoke poignantly and lovingly about his family. Here is what he said to alternating loud cheers and moved silence: "I built a great business with my family. Built a fantastic business. I have a son here who's done a great job. And I have another son here who's done a great job. And Tiffany. And Ivanka. And Barron will be great some day. He's tall, he is tall and he's smart, but I have a great family and they've done a fantastic job and we appreciated it very much. They've gone through hell."

Melania Trump wasn't there, neither were Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, though the couple issued a statement saying they were re-prioritizing their lives and would distance themselves from the political arena after serving as White House aides during her father's presidency: "I love my father very much. This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics,” Ivanka Trump had said. The former first daughter added that she would still support her father, but "outside the political arena."

Trump skips GOP debate in Florida, holds his own rally 30 minutes away. Did his adult children attend?

On Nov. 8, 2023, Donald Trump skipped a GOP debate in Miami in favor of hosting his own rally in Hialeah, Florida. It was questioned whether his adult children, who have been integral to their father's political career, would join him at the event, especially because they live close by.

• His eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, live in Miami-Dade County (see below).
• Donald Trump Jr. and his fiancée, former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle, live in Admiral's Cove in Jupiter, Florida
• Like his older brother, Eric Trump and his spouse, Lara Trump, live in Palm Beach County, just north of Trump's Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.
• Tiffany Trump and her husband, Michael Boulos, reportedly live in Miami.

News reports show Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Tiffany Trump and her husband did not attend Donald Trump's rally in Hialeah, but Ivanka Trump's eldest brother, Donald Trump Jr. did.

Trump trial verdict: Donald Trump guilty of 34 counts

On May 30, 2024, Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of business fraud charges related to an alleged "hush money" payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the weeks before the 2016 presidential election in an effort to influence the election's outcome. The guilty verdict ended a nearly seven-week trial that marked the first time a former president of the United States was accused and convicted of a crime. The closest the country had come to such a dubious and disgraceful distinction was 50 years ago when former President Richard Nixon faced the possibility of indictment in the Watergate scandal, but was spared by a presidential pardon issued by his successor, Gerald Ford.

That day, Donald Trump spoke, as did his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and their significant others (Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lara Trump, respectively). But Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump? They were silent on X, formerly Twitter, right after news broke of the New York jury's conviction of the former president on all 34 criminal charges.

The former first lady and Ivanka Trump, one of his closest White House advisers, also did not attend any of the trial's courtroom dates. On May 30, however, Ivanka Trump issued a statement of support on Instagram in which she wrote "I love you dad" on a photo of her, as a young child, with her father.

The GOP presidential nominee's two sons and his youngest daughter, Tiffany Trump, and her husband, Michael Boulos, did sit in on the trial.

After attempted assassination on Trump, Ivanka Trump sends message

When there was an attempted assassination attempt on Donald Trump on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, the former president’s daughter released a statement on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, decrying the shooting: “Thank you for your love and prayers for my father and for the other victims of today’s senseless violence in Butler, Pennsylvania. I am grateful to the Secret Service and all the other law enforcement officers for their quick and decisive actions today. I continue to pray for our country,” Ivanka Trump wrote. “I love you Dad, today and always.”

A day later, on the second anniversary of her mother Ivana Trump’s death, the former president’s eldest daughter wrote that “I believe she was watching over Dad last night during the attempt on his life.”

Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner make rare appearance at 2024 Republican National Convention

Less than a week after the attempted assassination attempt, Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner made a rare appearance on the last night of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. On July 18, 2024, Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump did not deliver speeches this time like they did during the 2020 RNC in Washington, D.C. All three opted to sit in the Trump family box, and Melania Trump later appeared on stage with Donald Trump when he formally accepted the Republican nomination.

In 2020, the first family — Melania Trump, Barron Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump — attended the RNC in unity to support former President Donald Trump. At the 2024 RNC, most of the Trump family attended, except for one: Barron Trump.

Barron Trump was the only immediate Trump family member who did not attend the 2024 RNC.

For the 2020 RNC, Ivanka Trump introduced her father before his 2020 acceptance speech.

Where do Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner live in Florida?

Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, call Billionaire Bunker home. In 2020, the couple reportedly paid $32 million for an empty waterfront lot on the island from singer Julio Iglesias, Enrique Iglesias' father, according to Business Insider.

The proper name for Billionaire Bunker, a private island near Miami Beach, Florida, is Indian Creek Village. And it's one of the most elite properties in Florida, and the world, given its residential list. The "island" is home to one of the world's richest people, the former First Daughter and the football's Tom Brady (who is not actually a billionaire), to name a few. The 300-acre island in Biscayne Bay has about 30 homes, an ultra-exclusive country club and golf course. The mansions and Indian Creek Country Club are connected to the mainland via the Surfside Bridge over Indian Creek. The area has its own law enforcement, Indian Creek Village Police Department.

Contributing: Max Hauptman, Paste BN

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the Paste BN Network-Florida. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for Paste BN Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.