Ivanka Trump has been is facing fierce backlash online for her 'obtuse' suggestion that people should have fun indoor campouts while at home with their kids as parents across the country struggle with childcare and layoffs amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The White House adviser, who is currently working from home amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, urged parents to enjoy some fun ways to spend time with their children while quarantined.
The US President’s First Daughter posted some throwback photos on Twitter and Instagram on 17 March, showing an indoor campout she had with her daughter Arabella and son Joseph when they were much younger.
Staying home today w/ kids?
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) March 17, 2020
Plan living room camp out!
Throw a bedsheet over some taped together brooms. Plan a menu & ‘pack’ sandwiches, salads (S’mores optional😜)
A fun activity that also brings family together for a meal!
Share your ideas & use the hashtag #TogetherApart pic.twitter.com/rgwCl8IIHY
In her caption, Ivanka Trump suggested that parents “plan a living room camp out” as a way to ward off coronavirus concerns and look on the bright side of “social distancing” that is part of the new reality generated by the spread of the coronavirus respiratory disease.
However, Ivanka Trump’s playful photos failed to generate the enthusiastic response they aimed for, judging by the backlash they garnered online.
Social media erupted with scorn over the frivolous pics at a time when working parents have been hard pressed to find childcare amidst closed schools and childcare centers around the country, with many employees laid off and others losing wages as fallout from the disease-sparked crisis.
I have friends CRYING in their living rooms because they got laid off yesterday and don't know how they will pay their mortgage.
— Witches Resist (@Witches_RESIST) March 17, 2020
Pretty out touch. Real world parents are juggling work maybe going to work sick bc they don't have paid leave or laid off. Juggling child care from school closures & struggling to afford groceries & pay rent.
— vlh (@coton_luver) March 17, 2020
Cha-Ching. pic.twitter.com/6Yd7hTTxSe
Congratulations on being rich & being married to a guy actually profiting off this catastrophe
— Jamie Schler (@lifesafeast) March 17, 2020
There are actually people suffering. Without enough food. Without nannies or cooks or cleaning people to help with the kids. Who are forced to work or risk losing their job/business.
Tone deaf grifter recycling old photo ops. pic.twitter.com/GD4cQBbWkh
— Leslieanne Warlick (@LsfarmLw) March 17, 2020
her staged photos are always the best part of every disaster
— Rich Swinton (@RicoSuaveJD) March 17, 2020
cool tent Ivanka, I hope you thanked whichever one of your servants set it up for you
— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) March 17, 2020
— martha (@martha96497702) March 17, 2020
Others on social media posted photos of people huddling in tents, sarcastically asking if “they were doing it right?’
Like this? Are we doing it right? pic.twitter.com/HnvSH1dD2d
— Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) March 17, 2020
Some posted sarcastic comments in response to the First Daughter’s call to “bring family together”.
I have an idea that will bring your family close together but it involves a judge, a jury, and some very sturdy bars. #TogetherApart
— Liddle’ Savage (@littledeekay) March 17, 2020
Other netizens, however, took the time to post their praise for the US President’s daughter.
So many don't realize how amazing you really are. You're doing a good job keeping everyone calm. We appreciate your fam.❤🇺🇸 #WWG1WGA
— 𝕋𝕒𝕣𝕒 [ℂ𝕚𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕒] (@AppalachianMum) March 17, 2020
That’s an old picture! Here are her kids from this last November. Nice of her to try to include herself in this mess though along with us regular folks pic.twitter.com/IcK0MMPunK
— r2no (@r2no2) March 17, 2020
The COVID-19 coronavirus has now been identified in all 50 US states, and more than 100 deaths in the country have been linked to the respiratory disease.
As of Wednesday morning, at least 5,881 people across every state including Washington, D.C., and three US territories, have tested positive for coronavirus, according to a New York Times database.
Worldwide, there are currently 203, 529 confirmed cases of infection, with the death toll at 8, 205, according to the data from the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE).
