Of the Trump children, Tiffany seems to be the one who sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. Barron is the baby; Ivanka, Don Jr., and Eric are all established adults (in their 30’s/40’s) who make frequent public appearances, often on behalf of their father or his policies. Barron is from Trump’s current union with Melania (to whom he’s been married for 15 years), the three elder from his marriage with Ivana, which also lasted 15 years. Tiffany is the product of his relatively brief union with Marla Maples.
Even after Donald Trump’s ascendance to the presidency, Tiffany has kept a somewhat lower profile — certainly relative to her older siblings. Since Trump was elected, she has obtained her law degree from Georgetown University, a fact she noted in the speech she gave last night at the RNC. Like many, she graduated in the midst of the pandemic — a strange time to come of age and officially enter “the real world” (such as it is for a Trump scion.)
Tiffany looked cool and pretty (and a lot like her mother) as she addressed the TV audience from behind the podium. But it was her words that really stood out to me. The full speech can be seen below and a full transcript can be found here. While Tiffany made a point to highlight some of her father’s achievements, it was her emphasis on the perils of media narratives and intolerance to differing viewpoints that really struck home:
People must recognize that our thoughts, our opinions, and even the choice of who we are voting for may and are being manipulated and visibly coerced by the media and tech giants. If you tune into the media, you get one biased opinion or another, and what you share, if it does not fit into the narrative that they seek to promote, then it is either ignored or deemed a lie, regardless of the truth. This manipulation of what information we receive impedes our freedoms. Rather than allowing Americans the right to form our own beliefs, this misinformation system keeps people mentally enslaved to the ideas they deem correct. This has fostered unnecessary fear and divisiveness amongst us. Why are so many in media and technology, and even in our own government, so invested in promoting a biased and fabricated view. Ask yourselves, why are we prevented from seeing certain information? Why is one viewpoint promoted while others are hidden? The answer is control, because division and controversy breed profit.
But what are the consequences when only one side of the story gets out or when only one viewpoint is acceptable? For our education system, it meant sacrificing civil debate by creating an atmosphere where students with contrary opinions are too afraid to speak. Many students find themselves suppressing their beliefs to fit into what the acceptable group think is.
In short, our nation suffers by inhibiting our diversity of thought and inclusion of ideas. Working together outside of our political comfort zones will accomplish so much more. Some cynical politicians do not seem to believe in the miracle of America. Well, I do. As Maximo Alvarez said so eloquently last night, if freedom is lost in this country, there is nowhere else to go. Having hope is not weakness, and believing in miracles is a gift from God.
Tiffany then went on to highlight the principles that Republicans believe in — and her father continues to pursue:
So tonight I want to tell you the uncensored truth of what we believe in. We believe in equality of opportunity. We believe in freedom of thought and expression. Think what you want, seek out the truth, learn from those with different opinions and then freely make your voice heard to the world. We believe in school choice because a child’s zip code in America should not determine their future. We believe in freedom of religion for all faiths. And we believe in the American spirit, a country founded on ideas, not identity, a country where our differences are embraced and the only country where the word dream has been attached to it. Because in America, your life is yours to chart. So if you’re hearing these things and thinking to yourself, “That is the kind of country that I want to live in.” Well, whether you realize it or not, you are a Trump supporter.
Effective words from an eloquent young woman. Donald Trump is lucky to have her speaking on behalf of him in his bid for re-election.
