Ivanka Trump faced backlash for posting a photo with her son Theodore amid reports that nearly 1,500 migrant children are missing, but she isn’t letting the haters get her down.
The 36-year-old daughter of President Donald Trump tweeted, “Ignore the trolls” on Tuesday, May 29, adding, “Focus on what is before you, on what you can control.”
She also quoted Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius: “If thou workest at what is before thee, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything to distract thee. If thou holdest to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity according to nature… thou wilt live happy. And there is no man who will be able to prevent this.”
1:3 “If thou workest at what is before thee, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything to distract thee…”
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) May 29, 2018
2:3 “If thou holdest to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity according to nature… thou wilt live happy. And there is no man who will be able to prevent this.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) May 29, 2018
3:3 Focus on what is before you, on what you can control and ignore the trolls!
Have a great week!— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) May 29, 2018
The tweets came two days after Ivanka shared a picture of herself holding her 2-year-old son alongside the caption, “My [heart]! #SundayMorning.” (In addition to Theodore, she shares daughter Arabella, 6, and son Joseph, 4, with husband Jared Kushner.)
Many celebrities, political officials and Twitter users were quick to call out the fashion designer for her “tone-deaf” post. Halsey tweeted, “I wonder what #SundayMorning is like for the parents of 1500 lost children your father is responsible for. F–k your #SundayMorning.” And Patton Oswalt tweeted, “Isn’t it just the best to snuggle your little one — knowing exactly where they are, safe in your arms? It’s the best. The BEST. Right, Ivanka? Right?”
Health and Human Services Department official Steven Wagner testified in a Senate subcommittee meeting in April that the Office of Refugee Resettlement was “unable to determine with certainty” the whereabouts of 1,475 children who entered the U.S. at the Mexican border. The Trump administration announced a policy earlier this month that could separate families caught crossing the border illegally by placing the undocumented minors with sponsors.
