--- title: Ivanka Trump Influenced Donald Trump Syria Strike description: President Donald Trump's decision to launch a missile strike against Syria was influenced by his "heartbroken and outraged" daughter Ivanka. canonical: https://time.com/4734340/donald-trump-ivanka-syria-strike/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-11T14:10:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T08:45:09.625Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'Heartbroken' Ivanka Trump Prompted President Trump's Syria Strike Decision og:description: "Ivanka is the mother of three kids and she has influence" og:url: https://time.com/4734340/donald-trump-ivanka-syria-strike/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c014894c4a97eb4/6988c2410a4a22f0eb9cda32/eric-trump-syria-strike.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: eric-trump-syria-strike og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Heartbroken' Ivanka Trump Prompted President Trump's Syria Strike Decision twitter:description: "Ivanka is the mother of three kids and she has influence" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c014894c4a97eb4/6988c2410a4a22f0eb9cda32/eric-trump-syria-strike.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A 'Heartbroken' Ivanka Trump Influenced President Trump's Syria Strike, Eric Trump Says > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=46a7e0ae-b8b2-4d05-a37c-76a3b5e75cf6&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Orders Military Strike on Syria [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Orders Military Strike on Syria](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fuS4JDGh.m3u8) (2:46)  _Published 2017-04-07. President Donald Trump makes statements regarding the US airstrikes on Syria._ by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Apr 11, 2017 2:10 PM UTC by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Apr 11, 2017 2:10 PM UTC President [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4710614/donald-trump-fbi-surveillance-house-intelligence-committee/)‘s decision to launch a [missile strike against Syria](http://time.com/4730231/us-missile-airstrike-attack-syria-donald-trump-bashar-assad/) following a deadly chemical attack in the northwestern part of the country was influenced by his “heartbroken and outraged” daughter Ivanka, according to one of her brothers. In an interview with [_The Daily Telegraph_](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/10/donald-trumps-action-syria-proves-not-league-putin-says-son/), Eric Trump said Ivanka likely swayed their father. “Ivanka is the mother of three kids and she has influence,” he said. “I’m sure she said, ‘Listen, this is horrible stuff.’ My father will act in times like that.” Trump said his father would not be intimidated by Russia [threatening military escalation](http://time.com/4732046/us-syria-strikes-pressure/) in Syria after the strike. “There will be no one harder — he has more backbone than anybody,” Eric Trump said. “He is not a guy who gets intimidated. I can tell you he is tough and won’t be pushed around. The cards will shake out the way they do but he’s tough.” ## Transcript Syrian dictator Bashar al- Assad, launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians. Using a deadly nerve agent, as I choked out the lives of helpless men, women And children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many. Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. No child of god should ever suffer such horror. Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched. It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons. Violated it's obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and ignored the urging of the UN Security Council. Years of previous attempts at changing Assad's behavior have all failed and failed Very dramatically. As a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen. And the region continues to destabilize, threatening the United States and its allies. Tonight I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter. And bloodshed in Syria. And also, to end terrorism of all kinds and all types. We ask for God's wisdom as we face the challenge of our very troubled world. We pray for the lives of the wounded. And for the souls of those who have passed. And we hope that as long as America stands for justice, then peace and harmony will in the end prevail. Good night And God bless America and the entire world. Thank you. 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