Tiffany Trump (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
In a long Washingtonian profile of Tiffany Trump, the Trump Organization explained that it could not facilitate an interview with Trump’s youngest daughter because “her school schedule is ‘quite hectic.’”
As a 3L.
Finding mendacity in the most mundane moments is truly what sets these people apart.
It’s not that Tiffany’s schedule isn’t hectic. Her security detail almost assuredly slows down every move. She has a well-publicized gig working with Shon Hopwood helping former prisoners — a job that reportedly involved her doing a little lobbying of her dad on sentencing reform. She has two cats. But none of these are “her school schedule.” Being a 3L isn’t what’s keeping her tied up. The article notes that she’s hanging out with her family on the regular, taking trips that most law students could never fit into their schedules. There’s only one way a 3L has a hectic school schedule and that’s if they’re dumb enough to do two years of law review. She did not.
But putting aside the weak sauce excuse the organization gave to avoid Tiffany’s interview, the profile of Tiffany’s life aims for an angle — set up in the headline itself — that it never really captures. But it failing to bring it home, it leaves us with an almost sadder message lurking between the lines.
“Tiffany Trump Is About to Finish Law School. And She’s Getting a Lot Trumpier,” promises the article’s title. But there’s very little to suggest the sociology and urban studies major has embraced gutting public school spending and kidnapping immigrant children. While her older half-brother has taken to sending around racist conspiracy theorists, Tiffany is apparently “Trumpier” mostly because she has a massive portrait of herself in her apartment and she’s spending more time with her siblings since their father’s campaign forced them all into the same room, which kind of misses the very heart of what the term “Trumpier” means in this era.
In fact, the whole piece leaves the distinct impression that Tiffany lives a bit like a hostage to a public relations image that she never invited and isn’t particularly comfortable with. It explains that her Instagram account has morphed from a normal rich kid’s into a testament to a family unity that never existed. There are asides about Tiffany maybe joining the family business in some vague capacity… despite having taken a career path that suggests the exact opposite. There are anecdotes about watching Barron play soccer and family getaways at Mar-a-Lago that apparently became a thing the exact moment it became convenient for her dad. Assuming these tales aren’t artificially hyped up — they are delivered in a conservative pundit’s Trump hagiography — they don’t paint Tiffany as “asserting herself deeper into the family fold” but a human being who cares enough to be present in the lives of her half-brother and nieces and nephews. Given the stage that the article set, Tiffany probably knows that she’s got limited time to build these relationships and she’s taking advantage.
Because despite its stated aim, Tiffany doesn’t come across as “Trumpier” by the end of the article. Instead, the mood of foreboding unintentionally laced throughout the piece is a sense that Tiffany might be aware that she’s going to be cast out when her dad can’t win Michigan again.
But when that happens at least she’ll have a law degree with no debt!
Tiffany Trump Is About to Finish Law School. And She’s Getting a Lot Trumpier. [Washingtonian]
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.