Ivanka Trump Releases How-To Video For Iowa Caucus [Video]
In the final weekend leading up to the 2016 Iowa caucus, Ivanka Trump is helping out her father, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, by releasing a video that explains to Iowans how to find their caucus locations, register as Republicans, and cast a caucus vote. As the caucus process can be confusing, Ivanka Trump’s video explains how the Donald Trump campaign has added a tab to the official website through which Iowa residents can input their street addresses and find out their caucus location, which the younger Trump is careful to point out is not the same location where Iowa residents will cast a vote in the general election. The Trump campaign also has a phone number Iowa residents can call to find out where they should go on Monday, February 1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Otk1FRbNR8
Twelve states and three territories hold caucuses instead of primaries leading up to a presidential election, and this less-often used process is a point of curiosity for those who don’t live in areas that hold them. Ivanka Trump’s video comes on the heels of a flurry of blogs and video explainers from internet-based outlets such as Bustle and Vox, breaking down the important things that caucus-goers need to remember as well as filling in those who live in other states. The key difference between a caucus and a primary is that while a primary is run similarly to a general election with the same ballot procedures state by state, a caucus involves voters coming together and meeting to debate and discuss the merits of the individual candidates. Ivanka Trump’s video focuses on the Republican caucus since Donald Trump is running for the Republican nomination — Republicans vote by secret ballot just like in a regular election, whereas Democrats are required to publicly state their vote.
Ivanka Trump has flown to Iowa to join her stepmother, Melania Trump, to begin campaigning in earnest for her father after only intermittent media appearances following her introduction at his campaign announcement, and promises for more appearances later from both Trump women. Other candidates have chosen to involve family members earlier — Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), also a candidate for the Republican nomination for president, found himself in hot water after a holiday-themed campaign video in which one of his minor children was given a speaking part that involved her taking a personal shot at Democratic candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Many believed that Cruz had exploited his daughter by using her image and likeness to take a political potshot when she is not old enough to make the decision to do so on her own.
Ivanka Trump explains how to caucus for her father | WATCH: https://t.co/eNwjy404Uw pic.twitter.com/9zIIKbkoxF
— The Hill (@thehill) February 1, 2016
Hillary Clinton has also recently brought her husband and daughter, former president Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, on the campaign trail on her behalf, though the Clintons have been hitting the stump for a few weeks now, and Melania Trump, by comparison, only made her first public speaking appearance this weekend. For her part, Ivanka Trump — who is more than eight months pregnant — is Executive Vice President of Development & Acquisitions at the Trump Organization, and is using her professional position to talk about her father as a businessman and a dealmaker in addition to father and grandfather.
.@ivankatrump talks parenting, says her kids "adore" grandpa @realdonaldtrump: https://t.co/SBYsgtlNx9 pic.twitter.com/qdBkL9jzi2
— InStyle (@InStyle) January 29, 2016
Ivanka Trump, along with her two brothers, Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump, has always had her career entwined with her family. All three siblings work for the Trump Organization, and Ivanka made regular appearances on her father’s NBC reality television series The Apprentice. All three siblings, as well as their half-sister Tiffany Trump, can be expected to continue to use this unusual insight into their father’s professional life to talk up his abilities on the campaign trail.
[Image courtesy of Scott Olson/Getty Images]