Ivanka Trump, the poised 34-year-old daughter long considered one of her father’s best surrogates, is starring in a new television ad in what is an overt effort by Donald Trump to win over female voters.
“The most important job any woman could have is being a mother — and it shouldn’t mean taking a paycut,” says Ivanka Trump in the direct-to-camera spot, as she appears in photos with her children and father. “Donald Trump understands the need of the modern workforce.”
The younger Trump then shares the highlights of the Trump childcare policy that she unveiled at a rally a few weeks ago in Pennsylvania, which includes reforming labor laws; increasing tax credits and paid maternity leave benefits; and expanding dependent care saving accounts.
The ad is Donald Trump’s softest television spot yet in the general election, and contrasts sharply with other paid media, including a spot released earlier Friday that lays into Hillary Clinton as dishonest and conceited. Trump has struggled mightily with women voters — especially in the suburbs — and the ad, titled “Motherhood,” is an attempt to close some of those numbers.
The Trump campaign said the ad would air both nationally and be cycled into their existing swing-state advertising buy. The campaign is ramping up their television time, on pace to spend about $5 million a week through Election Day after running a thriftier media campaign through the summer.