WASHINGTON – After Ivanka Trump’s tweets about violence in Chicago sparked an indignant response from Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday, the daughter and high adviser to the president tried to restrict the harm, providing an olive department to maintain a brand new relationship intact.
A White House official advised the Chicago Sun-Times that Ivanka Trump desires to work with City Hall to plan an “event surrounding workforce development and economic opportunity in Chicago,” and “we are hopeful that Mayor Lightfoot is a catalyst for change in the city.”
Moreover, after Lightfoot’s scorching feedback – and the mayor reaching out to the White House – Ivanka Trump’s chief of workers, Julie Radford, phoned City Hall, “and our office of intergovernmental affairs spoke with her team yesterday,” the White House official stated.
That Ivanka Trump was prepared to dial it down and attempt to mend fences is in stark distinction to her father, President Donald Trump, who favors escalation over mitigation and conciliation – and who has picked on Chicago since his 2016 presidential marketing campaign.
The day earlier than President Trump was to go to El Paso and Dayton within the wake of mass shootings, Ivanka Trump posted two tweets about violence in Chicago final weekend.
“With 7 dead and 52 wounded near a playground in the Windy City – and little national outrage or media coverage – we mustn’t become numb to the violence faced by inner city communities every day,” she wrote, misstating information and leaving her open to Lightfoot’s scathing remarks.
Ivanka Trump conflated a number of separate shootings, making it appear there was one horrible incident that someway escaped nationwide consideration. According to the Chicago Sun-Times depend, there have been 7 useless and 46 wounded in shootings in numerous locations throughout Chicago.
But there was extra to Lightfoot’s grievances.
Taking some warmth on May 7, then Mayor-elect Lightfoot used a few of her political capital to go to the White House to fulfill with Ivanka Trump to debate points the place they may work collectively and to ascertain a line of communication irrespective of the disdain Lightfoot has for the president.
If Ivanka Trump thought she was being useful to Chicago in sending these tweets – and never attempting to supply cowl for the president – then Lightfoot’s place was she might have picked up the telephone and known as.
A White House assertion launched on Tuesday evening acknowledged that to an extent: Ivanka Trump’s quote was “misleading in implying that all of the shooting incidents occurred in one location,” whereas underscoring the bigger level that seven had been shot to demise, even when not a mass killing.
The White House official supplied me extra of the backstory from their perspective surrounding that assertion.
“The mayor’s office asked us not to have Ivanka put out a correction or any further tweets, and we honored their request. They also said we should definitely explain to media the intention. We did ensure media were informed that the tweet was not implying a mass shooting had occurred, but that the violence must not be ignored and we are hopeful that Mayor Lightfoot is a catalyst for change in the city.”
Since Lightfoot’s May assembly on the White House, “our offices have stayed in contact and have been working on an event surrounding workforce development and economic opportunity in Chicago.”
What Lightfoot desires isn’t tweets however assist that does one thing. More federal help in stopping the circulate of weapons to town, stepping up prosecutions and having Congress take actions to curb gun violence.
Ivanka Trump has not signaled if she is utilizing her appreciable clout to affect the president to take stronger motion on weapons.
I requested, “Is there something Ivanka Trump desires to recommend for Chicago?
The reply from the White House official: “She desires to make sure that we as a rustic don’t grow to be numb to gun violence that happens in our inside cities every day.
“When she (met) with Mayor Lightfoot, that they had a…