The elder daughter of President-elect Trump is reportedly looking to buck her father by becoming a climate change advocate during her father’s first term in office.
Ivanka Trump is apparently floating the idea among her inner circle, Politico reported Thursday, citing a source close to the president-elect’s daughter.
The source says it’s all about her “brand” and will be a way to shore up support from across the aisle.
“The issues she’s talking about are ones she’s always talked about,” the source said. “These are totally consistent with what she’s developed with her brand. She is playing a critical role in being able to have issues that moderate and liberal women care about — and creating a bridge to the other side.”
Meanwhile, environmental groups are gearing up for nothing short of open warfare with the incoming Trump administration over climate change. Trump is expected to begin his agenda by repealing President Obama’s climate change regulations and exiting last year’s Paris climate change accord with the United Nations.
Trump has made recent statements that suggested he may be open to not leaving the Paris climate change deal, telling reporters at the New York Times that he hasn’t made up his mind yet. But most climate activists and environmental groups aren’t taking those statements to the bank just yet. Fundraising calls among major groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council are increasing to build a war chest to counter Trump.
Reince Priebus, who will serve as Trump’s chief of staff, said recently that the president-elect may have an “open mind” when it comes to some policies to deal with global warming, but his position on climate change is clear: “Most of it is a bunch of bunk.”
The environmental group Greenpeace issued a statement on Ivanka’s plans, saying it is “absolutely necessary for someone to talk climate sense to Trump.” But the group is skeptical her effort will amount to much given that the members of Trump’s transition team “remain among the worst climate-denying fossil fuel industry shills we’ve seen from the Republican Party,” said spokesman Travis Nichols.
“Trump himself hasn’t laid out any concrete plans to deal with this massive global problem,” Nichols added. “From the start of Trump’s presidential run, we’ve seen his team use Ivanka to soften her father’s most egregious positions, and there’s no reason to think this isn’t part of the same plan.”
