White House senior adviser Ivanka Trump told The New York Times this week that she officially switched her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 2018, shortly before the midterm elections.
“I am a proud Trump Republican,” she told the Times. “I believe he’s broadened the reach of the Republican Party, which is really important to me.”
The president’s eldest daughter said in the interview that she wanted to change parties in 2016 so she could vote for her father but missed the deadline.
Trump became a registered Republican on Oct. 22, 2018, the Times said, citing the New York City Board of Elections.
Trump was a registered Democrat until her father started pursuing the presidency. She said in April 2016 she was an independent.
Trump defended her political fluidity, saying, “No one person or party has a monopoly on good ideas.”
“I’m not going to speculate on the projections other people have cast upon me,” she said. “In areas outside of my portfolio, I tend to agree more with the more conservative viewpoint more often than where the Democrats are today.”
In the past, Trump has been vocal about her support of gay rights and the Paris climate accord. She also donated to Democratic politicians, according to the Times.
Jared Kushner, her husband and a senior White House adviser, also confirmed that he had become a Republican at a recent campaign briefing, according to the Times.
“I was not a Republican,” he said. “Now I’m a Republican. I think the Republican Party is growing now that people like me feel comfortable being part of it.”