Presidential adviser Ivanka Trump said Tuesday she’s mostly working from home during the coronavirus outbreak while also caring for her three children, learning to play guitar and studying Greek mythology.
“I have been working from home when I can, coming in [to the White House] only when I need to,” Ms. Trump said in an interview with Yahoo Finance. “I’m doing as much telephonically as possible. I’ve got three young kids who are growing more restless by the day.”
She and her husband, presidential adviser Jared Kushner, have three children, ages 8, 6 and 4.
Ms. Trump, the president’s eldest daughter, said she’s dealing with an experience that “pretty much every parent around the country is going through.”
“It’s a unique time, but I’m trying to reframe all of it through through the lens of the joy of having this family connectivity even if it’s sometimes toxic, and you know, on weekends and now in the evenings where normally we would have had a work-related commitment or something else, a school function,” she said.
Ms. Trump said she also has been using the time “to expand my own mind and explore things I normally wouldn’t have prioritized.” That includes free online courses in Greek and Roman mythology, and learning to play guitar.
“I’m re-reading ’The Odyssey,’ and started to learn to play the guitar and now I’m really working on it, as I sit with my kids and when they’re asleep or napping. That’s what I’m doing,” Ms. Trump said.
She promoted the recently approved $2.2 trillion economic rescue package signed by her father, saying it will help small businesses and families through a tough period, including with paid family leave.
“We’ve created a mechanism whereby employers that offer paid leave — if their companies have under 500 employees, which means the vast majority of those who are not currently offering it — if they offer it, we will give them a full reimbursement of that in the form of a tax credit,” she said.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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