Ivanka Trump’s most cringeworthy TV appearances: from awkward host of Miss Teen USA to being shaded by step-mum Melania at the 2020 Republican convention
- Ivanka Trump’s most excruciating TV turns over the decades include her facepalm remarks after the swimsuit round of the beauty pageant she co-hosted at age 15
- She has also suffered the awful things dad Donald Trump has said in her presence – cough, ‘If Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her’
Awkward teen among beauty queens
Ivanka Trump made her television debut when she was just 15 years old – she co-hosted her father’s Miss Teen USA beauty pageant in 1997. However, her appearance as a “teen expert” alongside actor J. Eddie Peck didn’t go down very well.
It was clear during her backstage chats with the competitors and while announcing the results that she was “horrendously nervous”, according to the 2019 book Kushner Inc.: Greed. Ambition. Corruption. The Extraordinary Story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump by Vicky Ward.
As well as several slip-ups, Ivanka’s hosting gig was full of embarrassing comments, including an incident after the swimsuit round when she said to the bikini-clad teenagers: “I can guarantee my brothers were loving that. Are any of you single?”
Woody Allen-Soon Yi Previn comparison
On The View in 2006, co-host Star Jones got a shock when she asked The Apprentice star Donald Trump what he’d do if his daughter wanted to pose for Playboy.
“I don’t think Ivanka would do that inside the magazine,” Donald responded. “Although she does have a very nice figure. I’ve said that if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her. Is that terrible?”
