Trump's Silence On Supposed 'Favorite' Daughter Ivanka's Birthday Speaks Volumes

Ivanka Trump celebrated her 43rd birthday on October 30. She spent her big day doing what many Xennials do: re-sharing birthday tributes from friends (such as her brother's girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle and her longtime bestie Kim Kardashian) and family (such as half-sister Tiffany Trump). But one person was suspiciously missing from the collage of happy birthday wishes: her father, Donald Trump. There was no sign of anything from the former president and 2024 Republican Party nominee. (Not even on his Truth Social account, where he tends to be much more active.)

Donald's silence on his daughter's birthday mirrors her absence from her father's campaign throughout his 2024 run. Husband Jared Kushner told The New York Times Ivanka decided not to be a part of her father's latest run for the Oval Office because she'd "made the decision when she left Washington that she was closing that chapter of her life. And she's been remarkably consistent." But is it possible that Trump's long-suspected "favorite child" has fallen out of favor for skipping the campaign trail?

For context: Ivanka Trump wished Donald Trump a happy 78th birthday back in June, complete with photos of the two at the White House, in a portrait from her wedding, another of them together in the boardroom, a throwback of the two holding hands when she was young, and even more to her Instagram Story. She didn't snub him, so why didn't he return the favor? It seems increasingly likely that Ivanka's distance from the 45th president's campaign for the #47 spot is to blame.

Later in Kushner's interview with The New York Times, he gave off a certain passivity toward Trump's 2024 run. "We're rooting for him — obviously, we're proud of him," Kushner said, "But, you know, either way, our life will just continue to move forward." This metaphorical shrug conflicts with the life-or-death, us-versus-them angle that his father-in-law so frequently relies on to rally his supporters. From this perspective, it's really no wonder why Donald Trump chose to spend his daughter's birthday on the stump instead of making a post about her. One has to wonder what — if anything — was said offline.