Democrats have accused first daughter Ivanka Trump of being a "hypocrite" and "faux feminist" for touting a new White House initiative to train and hire Americans, while her clothing company's factories overseas reportedly treat and pay workers poorly.
Democratic National Committee spokesperson Elizabeth Renda issued a statement Thursday after the initiative was launched, calling out Trump's "blatant hypocrisy."
The first daughter in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, ahead of President Donald Trump's executive order, detailed the new council, campaign and pledge around training, retraining and filling jobs with American workers in line with the Trump campaign promise to "hire American."
"We call upon employers large and small to join this crucial initiative to create more jobs, strengthen our economy and restore hopeful futures to countless families," Ivanka Trump wrote.
.@IvankaTrump: “Recognizing that the American workforce is our country’s greatest national asset, tomorrow President Trump will call upon the private sector and industry leaders to do their part and invest in the advancement of our current and future workforce.” pic.twitter.com/bMUUCrERzs
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 18, 2018
She neglected to mention that her own company has suppliers in China and other countries, with complaints of worker mistreatment.
"While Ivanka Trump is busy writing op-eds calling on American companies to 'create more jobs, strengthen our economy and restore hopeful futures to countless families,'" Renda said, "Workers in countries like Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and India are busy too - working in conditions below industry standards to manufacture clothing and shoes for the first daughter's namesake brand."
"The American people will not be fooled by the Trumps' political publicity stunts calling for the creation of more American jobs, and they won't fall for Ivanka's faux feminism," Renda continued. "The reality of how this family runs its own businesses is clear: choosing not to buy American, hire American, or make meaningful investments in American workers."
Ivanka Trump's company relies exclusively on factories in countries including China, Bangladesh and Indonesia with low-wage workers who don't have much of an opportunity to speak out, The Washington Post found in an investigation last year. She has also been accused of staying silent on alleged labor abuses at the factories.
Renda raised another reason Ivanka Trump has been called a hypocrite.
"The first daughter and special adviser to the president loves to portray herself as a champion for working women, but one look inside the overseas factories where she chooses to manufacture her products proves that she is anything but," Renda stated. "The women manufacturing 'Ivanka Trump' clothes and shoes are paid so little that many of them are forced to live without their own children."
The White House and Ivanka Trump's brand did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Newsweek.
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A Los Angeles native, Jessica Kwong grew up speaking Spanish, Cantonese and English, in that order. Her journalism career started ... Read more
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