Ivanka Trump: Controversy Bubbles Up Over Her Brand’s ‘Champagne Popsicles’ Tweet
Ivanka Trump tried to help Americans make their ice cold champagne wishes and caviar dreams come true over Memorial Day weekend. However, her brand’s tweet about “champagne popsicles” got a chilly response from those who don’t agree that serving up costly cocktails is the best way to honor fallen soldiers on the patriotic holiday.
Champagne probably isn’t the first beverage that comes to mind when Americans think of the perfect drink to serve at a Memorial Day weekend cookout. However, CNN reports that the website for Ivanka Trump’s lifestyle brand caused a social media firestorm by suggesting that hosts and hostesses should use the expensive, effervescent alcoholic drink to create champagne popsicles for their hot and thirsty barbecue guests. On Sunday, the Ivanka Trump HQ Twitter account tweeted a link to a list of tips on how to celebrate Memorial Day, which it describes as the “kickoff to summer.” The list includes a link to a short article explaining how to make champagne popsicles, and it advises revelers to “blast some tunes” while they party the three-day weekend away. There’s also a reminder that Memorial Day is the first day that fashion-conscious women can wear white, “if we’re following the rules.”
What the list doesn’t include is any mention of honoring the men and women of the U.S. armed forces who have lost their lives in battle, and some angry Americans are slamming Ivanka Trump and her brand for being “insensitive” and failing to acknowledge the true meaning of Memorial Day. The response to the champagne popsicle tweet has been as cold as ice, and many upset Twitter users have bombarded Ivanka Trump HQ with tweets about the sacrifices made by their loved ones.
My father did not spend two years in service to America so you could use a day of remembrance for fallen soldiers as a BRANDING OPPORTUNITY. pic.twitter.com/wnGXIunat9
— Amanda Guinzburg (@Guinz) May 29, 2017
Here's one of my best friends killed in Iraq. Enjoy the bubbly pic.twitter.com/24hWH55iOC
— Kristin (@xtinfreemanus) May 30, 2017
Ivanka Trump was also labeled “tone deaf” and “out of touch,” and she was accused of using Memorial Day to promote her lifestyle brand. The Grifters actor John Cusack responded to the Ivanka Trump HQ tweet by referencing the famous “let them eat cake” quote that is commonly misattributed to Marie Antoinette.
Totally impossible to be more absurd – let them eat cake- or champagne popsicles on Memorial Day ? https://t.co/DFIe1CndnP
— John Cusack (@johncusack) May 30, 2017
Other Twitter users were surprised to find out what exactly the Ivanka Trump HQ champagne popsicle is. According to Brit + Co, champagne won’t freeze completely due to the alcohol it contains, so it takes some work to make popsicles with champagne in them; you have to mix the bubbly booze with other liquids to make it freeze properly. However, the champagne popsicle “recipe” referenced on the Ivanka Trump website doesn’t call for any such mixture.
“Just add your favorite frozen fruit pop to your go-to summer bubbly,” reads the Good Housekeeping article that is linked to. “Best part? You can mix-and-match your drink and ice pops to make infinite cocktail combinations.”
In other words, you just dunk a non-alcoholic popsicle into a glass of champagne.
While many people are attacking Ivanka Trump over her brand’s controversial Memorial Day advice, the tweet she shared on her own account made no mention of booze; it thanked members of the military for their service and recognized those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Today we honor the men & women in our armed forces who have lost their lives to protect our freedom. Thank you for your service #MemorialDay
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) May 29, 2017
Ivanka Trump likely had nothing to do with the champagne popsicles tweet—or at least she’s not supposed to be that involved with her company. Ivanka is currently serving as the assistant to the president, who just so happens to be her father. As the New York Times reports, Ivanka relinquished control of her company over to her top executive before taking on her powerful new role working alongside Donald Trump.
According to a letter written by Walter M. Shaub, the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, Ivanka Trump and other Senior White House officials are barred from “participating personally and substantially in particular matters directly and predictably affecting their financial interests.” However, as ABC News reports, there are still concerns about the level of her involvement in her businesses and potential conflicts of interest. Ivanka Trump may not be telling her company’s social media manager to tweet about champagne popsicles, but her brand did secure new China trademarks the same day that she and Donald Trump had dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
[Featured Image by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]
