Ivanka Trump has faced a wave of mockery after praising her husband Jared Kushner's 'determined optimist' attitude, with critics pointing out that both were born into immense wealth. The 42-year-old former White House senior adviser shared a clip from Kushner's appearance on the Lex Fridman podcast, where he discussed his can-do approach to challenges.
In the clip, Kushner said: 'If you want to accomplish something, you just have to go at it... If the door closes, I'll try the window. If the window closes, I'll try the chimney. If the chimney closes, I'll try to dig a tunnel.' Ivanka captioned the post: 'I personally love this clip as it reveals the determined optimist who firmly believes that there's always a solution.'
However, social media users quickly reminded the couple of their privileged backgrounds. One critic wrote: 'Her husband, Jared, who was born into a family worth billions, explains to us how his tenacity led to his success. I learned that if I never give up on my dreams and work really hard, I can also be born into a wealthy family.' Another commented: 'Most trust fund babies are optimistic. It's built into the free money.'
Jared Kushner's family real estate fortune is estimated at $1.8 billion by Forbes. He has also faced longstanding accusations that his parents bought his way into Harvard University after his father pledged a $2.5 million donation. A former administrator at his high school told ProPublica: 'There was no way anybody in the administrative office of the school thought he would on the merits get into Harvard. His GPA did not warrant it, his SAT scores did not warrant it.'
Ivanka claimed she had 'received a remarkable number of gracious compliments' on the interview but disabled comments on the post. The backlash follows a similar pattern for the couple, who have often been labelled 'nepo babies' due to their family wealth and connections.
