“Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” the new hardcover from Michael Wolff, best known for his biting book about media mogul Rupert Murdoch, leaves you wondering how the West Wing allowed him access. If there’s any truth to the book, de, Ivanka takes a hit for inanity and intentions to be America’s first female president. Does she have the right stuff? Let’s check her attainments. Reports by Yahoo! and Wikipedia provide some of the details for this article.

Delusions of grandeur

Ivanka’s two claims to fame are a fashion line and two self-help books – “The Trump Card: Playing To Win in Work and Life” and “Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success.” But both were written for her.

And her fashions are said to be copied from other designers, made outside the US, and not very well, according to Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, high-end department store chains that stopped carrying her products last year citing “poor performance.” Can it be that her “Trump Card” is playing to win without doing any work – you know, like her father? If she knew history, she wouldn’t even daydream about the presidency.

Role models

Several daughters in history who succeeded their famous fathers aced their jobs. Consider Eleanor of Aquitaine, who, at age 15, took over for deceased William X. Although a teenager, she came prepared having been schooled by her well-read father in philosophy, literature, and languages.

She was also trained in the ways of life in court. The upshot was that in the Middle Ages, Eleanor turned her country into the cultural center of the continent. Similarly, in the 18th century, Maria Theresa of Austria, who became empress of Central Europe after inheriting her father Charles VI’s role as Holy Roman Emperor, also excelled.

This was the time of the Enlightenment and Maria Theresa was big on science and learning. She made education compulsory and established and funded the Royal Academy of Sciences for medical research. She also banned the burning of witches and capital punishment.

A big deal

I almost forgot what happened in the 16 century. When Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII, died and she became Queen Elizabeth I, she brought the Renaissance to England.

No small thing. And no wonder. She was an egghead, having studied and mastered Greek, Latin, and philosophy. When she took the throne, she made the court into a center for scholars and the arts – poetry, literature, and music.

Woman of accomplishment

And let’s not forget Queen Victoria in the 19th century. The daughter of Prince Edward, son of King George III, Victoria held sway over pretty much everything, not only in England but in the US when it came to social values, fashion, and politics. And even though she didn’t have the absolute power that Elizabeth I had and was required to share it with the British parliament, she helped do away with slavery in all the colonies and improve working conditions in textile mills. All of which means that Ivanka’s eye on the Oval Office needs a corrective lens.
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