Donald Trump’s oldest daughter Ivanka joined her father on stage at Mar-a-Lago as he declared victory this morning – in what was her first appearance of the election campaign.
Ms Trump, 42, played an active role in her father’s previous campaigns but she and her husband, Jared Kushner, stepped back as he made a third bid for office.
Unlike her brothers Eric and Donald Trump Jr, Ms Trump did not attend her father’s criminal trial in Manhattan in April, when he was convicted of 34 felony counts.
In November 2022, Ms Trump issued a statement saying she would no longer be involved in politics. “While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena,” she said.
One of Ms Trump’s last prominent recent appearances was at Trump’s civil fraud case last November, when she testified that she wasn’t “privy” to her father’s finances. She later declined to be interviewed.
Speaking for the couple, Mr Kushner, who also served as a senior adviser in the Trump White House, told reporters there was “zero” chance that his wife would rejoin the campaign in its final stretch.
He said Ms Trump “made the decision when she left Washington that she was closing that chapter of her life. And she’s been remarkably consistent.”
It came after she played a key role in Trump’s first administration and his second bid for office.
Largely seen as a liberal influence, Ms Trump frequently appeared at rallies and on national convention stages in an attempt to appeal to female voters.
She has long been entwined with her father’s empire. Having grown up in Trump Tower, she worked for him after college and frequently guest starred on his reality television show The Apprentice.
Observers of the couple, nicknamed “Javanka”, said that withdrawing from Washington enabled them to flourish financially.
Some of Mr Kushner’s deals have faced intense scrutiny, including a $2 billion investment in his private equity firm from an investment fund controlled by the Saudi government shortly after he left the White House.
It is unclear at this stage if Ms Trump appeared on stage solely in a family capacity or if she and Mr Kushner would be returning to the political fold.