One-part West Wing senior staff and one-part pop culture celebrity, Trump is the second-most requested campaign surrogate for events, behind her father, according to a White House official. She brings in money, too. Since August, she has participated in just four fundraisers on behalf of the campaign that have netted upwards of $15 million, according to the official.
Trump will be ramping up her travel even more as the election nears.
"She will be doing at least two to four days per week of visiting various states," the official said. In the last two weeks, she has visited Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Georgia. The official noted that next week, Trump will be back in Florida and North Carolina, where polls show a close race between the President and Democrat nominee Joe Biden.
Million-dollar draw
Perhaps Ivanka Trump's biggest calling card this election season is her ability to pull in dollars.
In August, after a virtual fundraiser from the White House held on Zoom and headlined by the first daughter netted $4 million, Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel touted the impact of her appearance, saying, "Ivanka is a tremendous voice for the re-election effort."
"The fact is, she's talking about issues at these events that other surrogates are not. She can talk about paid family leave, or workforce development, or the child tax credit -- issues that a lot of voters frankly haven't heard Republicans talk about as much this campaign," said the official, who said the people who go to Ivanka Trump events tend to be more ideologically diverse than those who turn out for the energy of the President's larger rallies.
"When you're raking in that kind of cash, you're speaking to a very select cross-section of donor," said a campaign source of her core audience. Earlier this month, at a closed-press fundraiser in Austin, Texas, Trump raised $4.5 million for Trump Victory, the fundraising arm of the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign. In Tampa, she raised $3 million at a private event. A campaign source said that in 2016, Trump was averaging about $2 million per campaign fundraising event; this year, that number has climbed to $3.5 million.
'In high demand' with her own style
On Friday, Trump was at a Winona, Minnesota, technology plant, discussing the administration's employment agenda, while also touting the President's USMCA trade deal and underscoring his message about keeping jobs in the US. The day before, Trump joined Vice President Mike Pence, this time at an Eau Claire manufacturing company that produces building materials. Trump, a former executive at the family real estate outfit, told the assembled workers how impressed she was with the company's products. "And I've seen a lot of laminates," she added. Trump and Pence also appeared at a "Cops for Trump" event in Minneapolis, playing up the President's "law and order" messaging, which has become a cornerstone of his campaign stump speeches.
"She's in high-demand," the White House official said.
