CLEVELAND — Ivanka Trump said Thursday that she is “terrified” about introducing her father Donald Trump to accept the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention.
Her speech Thursday night has been as hotly anticipated as Mr. Trump’s big speech, which will cap the four-day convention.
“I am terrified. I’ve never spoken in a stadium like this, but really I just want to make sure I do a great job for him,” Ms. Trump said on NBC’s “Today” program. “It’s a real honor and a privilege that he asked me to do this, and I think it’s a testament to him as a parent.”
Ms. Trump’s speech is expected to attempt to soften the New York billionaire’s tough-guy image and help improve his appeal to women voters.
“I know the man as a parent, and I can share how he raised me and my siblings, and the father he was. But also I can talk about the man he is as a leader and an entrepreneur and a business builder and a visionary,” she said.
“Knowing him from those two very different vantage points, but seeing similar attributes really transcend both worlds, I think it gives me a bit of a unique perspective in that regard,” said Ms. Trump, 34, who is the daughter of Trump’s first wife, Ivana.
Other members of the Trump clan to give convention speeches were Mr. Trump’s current wife Melania, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and his youngest daughter, Tiffany, whose mother is Mr. Trump’s second wife, Marla Maples.
Ivana is also the mother of Donald Jr. and Eric.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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