An online auction offering 45 minutes with Ivanka Trump over coffee was apparently canceled Friday after complaints about donors being able to buy time with the incoming first family.
The New York Times reported that the latest bid in the auction was close to $73,000 before Charitybuzz pulled it from its website. The winner of the auction would have received a 45-minute coffee date with Trump at the Trump International Hotel.
Democratic critics latched onto the auction as an example of the pay-to-play mentality the Trump campaign crucified Hillary Clinton for during her time as secretary of state.
In a report on Thursday, the Times spoke with business people who were looking to get some time with the president-elect’s daughter, who has a very close relationship with her father. The bidders considered the auction an opportunity to talk about working with the Trump administration.
“The nature of my business, we talk to a lot of different governments, a lot of politicians and lawmakers across the world,” said Ozan Ozkural, a London investment manager. “You end up getting a better sense of what the modus operandi will be.”
Eric Trump, the president-elect’s youngest son, was doing the auction for his foundation and told the Times on Thursday he was thinking of canceling it. He denied that it was any opportunity for people to buy influence in the Trump administration.
“We’ve done this every year,” he said. “We utilized Charitybuzz to raise significant funds. Every single year we’ve auctioned off a lunch with one of ourselves. It’s nothing more than an effort to raise a lot of money in an effort to help sick children.”
The Trump transition team did not respond to a question on why the auction was taken down.
