US President Donald Trump’s whip-smart, canny daughter Ivanka is America’s REAL First Lady – not his wife Melania
SO who exactly will follow in the footsteps of Michelle Obama and stand alongside newly anointed President Donald Trump as America’s First Lady?
His wife Melania is clear she wants to stay in New York with their son Barron until he leaves junior school.
I don’t think she has any burning desire to be compared and contrasted with the divine Michelle, nor take on this unpaid, demanding and often tricky role.
So who better than the other most important woman in his life — daughter Ivanka?
Melania has been almost invisible since her bombastic husband won the presidency and she looked uneasy in the campaign spotlight.
Her biggest speech was lambasted as a virtual word-for-word copy of a talk once given by Michelle, resulting in bruising criticism and some unfavourable comparisons.
You need a suit of armour to survive political life in the US and a modern-day First Lady is judged on her style and appearance, often in unfairly harsh terms.
Half of America wants their “Flotus” (First Lady of the United States) to bake cookies and be a Fifties housewife, while the other half wants a strong, independent woman with her own political and social agenda.
Michelle navigated this difficult course with surefootedness.
Right from the start of the Obama presidency, she carved out a role as an ambassador for women’s rights, for health and fitness and for always having pitch-perfect class.
She and her husband moved their two young daughters to the White House straight away so they could be together as a family.
It looks unlikely the Trumps will be having cosy dinners in front of the TV in the West Wing any time soon, although Melania will eventually have to uproot herself from life in the gilded Trump residences in Manhattan and brave the Washington media.
Melania suffered the humiliation of having top designers including Tom Ford refusing to design an outfit for the inauguration.
She has also been vilified for those nude and suggestive photographs taken during her career as a model.
Unlike her husband, who has the hide of a rhino, she must have been wounded by all of these remarks.
Even her attempts to help charities and raise awareness of internet bullying backfired when it was pointed out that her husband uses Twitter and social media to attack anyone with the audacity to disagree with him.
Her absence leaves a job vacancy, albeit temporarily. Which brings us to Ivanka.
She is a whip-smart businesswoman, canny enough to dismiss claims she will be an alternative First Lady, but who wants to be a power behind the throne in her own right.
She and her filthy rich husband Jared, an unpaid senior presidential adviser, are considered to be THE power couple in Washington, with movers and shakers clamouring for face time.
In preparation for a Trump presidency, Ivanka has wound up her clothing and accessories brand and severed links with the family business.
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She is writing a book but making sure all the proceeds go to charity — a move that shows great PR skills but is genuinely commendable too.
This leaves her with a lot of time on her hands and it would be naive to think she would be happy out of the limelight.
Ivanka is her father’s daughter, after all, and has already flexed her muscles gathering the great and the good to equip herself with invaluable information and experience.
She clearly wants a lot more power and influence than the restricted remit of First Lady, and you have to admire that steely ambition.
With a view to building bridges the new President could learn from, Ivanka has said she will remain in touch with Hillary Clinton’s daughter Chelsea for advice and support.
I find that encouraging and Ivanka could end up as the acceptable face of the Trump administration — and one of the few people able to get her father to behave with dignity. We can but hope.
In the meantime, while Melania holes up in New York, it’s Ivanka who will be the most important woman in Washington.
'Old on for fun
TV bosses have woken up to the fact humans have sex even after their twenties and thirties. In fact, we have more hanky panky in middle age than we do in those exhausing days of looking after babies and climbing the greasy pole at work.
Look at Last Tango In Halifax, a beautifully written series revolving around the love life of an older couple.
And Sunday night sees the first episode of Apple Tree Yard, a drama exploring the highly charged affair between two fiftysomethings who indulge in sex in locations where they could easily be caught.
This week I spoke to star Emily Watson, who is relishing the chance to portray the passion between two mature adults overwhelmed by desire.
She describes the affair as like “being eaten by a wolf”.
And the sex scenes are far more sizzling and convincing than those we usually see on screen between two impossibly good-looking but rather vapid youngsters.
Put Patsy in Corrie
GOOD to see Patsy Kensit in fine form, with a cracking performance in ITV drama Tina & Bobby.
She is very happy to be a character actress and has proved there’s so much more to her than the pretty face of a former rock chick.
Patsy told me she’d love a part in Corrie, following the legendary Annie Walker and Bet Gilroy as queen bee of the Rovers.
She’d be a brilliant addition to the Street, maybe as Eileen’s glamorous but hard-as-nails sister, or one of Liz McDonald’s mates from Spain, fleeing debts and a Costa del Crime gangster lover.
The possibilities are endless . . .
Gagging Gaga would be a Super own-goal
APPARENTLY, Lady Gaga has been “banned” from making any anti-Trump statements during her half-time show at next month’s Super Bowl.
This is arguably the biggest gig of any performer’s professional career.
Viewing figures are colossal and the game attracts Americans from across the board.
There have been hiccups and faux pas in the past, albeit most of them storms in a teacup.
Like when Janet Jackson had a “wardrobe malfunction” and her boob escaped like an over-excited puppy while she danced with Justin Timberlake.
I would advise those who want to gag Gaga, to tread carefully.
No one imposes sanctions on this feisty woman and banning her from giving her opinion on the new President will surely only make her even more keen to air her forthright views.
She’s promised us something special and, whatever happens, the half-time entertainment will be, as always, a hell of a lot more exciting than the actual match.
ONE of my all-time favourite sitcoms has been given the green light to return and will soon be back after a ten-year absence.
“Karen & Jack” was full of sassy quips and one-liners and was way ahead of its time.
You might remember it as Will & Grace, but for me the real stars were snobbish Karen and self-centred Jack.
We shouldn’t have cared about these narcissists, but genius writing and deft performances meant they wormed their way into our hearts.
I KNOW I wasn’t the only one to shudder at the performance of seven-year-old Xia Vigor on a recent Filipino kids’ TV talent show.
British-born Xia strutted and wiggled across the stage in a parody of Taylor Swift that made my blood run cold. The make-up was plastered on and her hair teased and combed to make her look years older.
It reminded me of those ghastly US pageants where children, even toddlers, are preened, buffed and puffed and made to act out adult songs with inappropriate lyrics and gestures.
Xia is undeniably talented but this was distasteful.