--- title: Donald Trump Tells Reporter She Has a Nice Smile description: Find out why many women, including Ivanka Trump, say their first instinct is to laugh off sexual harassment. canonical: https://time.com/4836942/donald-trump-nice-smile-reporter/ author: Samantha Cooney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-28T20:05:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:05:45.670Z og:title: President Trump’s ‘Nice Smile’ Comment Recalls Ivanka Trump’s Own Experience With Harassment og:description: ‘Laugh it off’ is how many women say they handle inappropriate behavior og:url: https://time.com/4836942/donald-trump-nice-smile-reporter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86eb3bcd54445462/6988d3a38fd2ee03db357c1a/gettyimages-802041584.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5568 og:image:height: 3132 og:image:alt: US-IRELAND-POLITICS og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump’s ‘Nice Smile’ Comment Recalls Ivanka Trump’s Own Experience With Harassment twitter:description: ‘Laugh it off’ is how many women say they handle inappropriate behavior twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86eb3bcd54445462/6988d3a38fd2ee03db357c1a/gettyimages-802041584.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump’s ‘Nice Smile’ Comment Recalls Ivanka Trump’s Own Experience With Harassment > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Twice a week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters.  by [Samantha Cooney](https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Jun 28, 2017 8:05 PM UTC  President Donald Trump waits to speak on the phone with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in the Oval Office on June 27, 2017. President Donald Trump waits to speak on the phone with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in the Oval Office on June 27, 2017. Nicholas Kamm—AFP/Getty Images  by [Samantha Cooney](https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Jun 28, 2017 8:05 PM UTC When President Donald Trump [paused](http://time.com/4836149/trump-irish-reporter-nice-smile/?iid=sr-link1) a diplomatic call to tell reporter Caitriona Perry that she had a “nice smile on her face,” Perry initially laughed it off. > [](https://twitter.com/CaitrionaPerry/status/879804904696496128) While Perry later [called](https://twitter.com/CaitrionaPerry/status/879804904696496128?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref%5Furl=http%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2F4836149%2Ftrump-irish-reporter-nice-smile%2F) the moment “bizarre,” some [took Perry’s initial response](http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/339701-trump-praises-female-reporters-nice-smile-on-call-to-irish-pm) as an indication that she took President Trump’s comments in “good humor.” But, for many other women, the moment was a reminder that there’s still often no good way to respond to [sexual harassment,](http://motto.time.com/4375389/workplace-harassment-eeoc-discrimination/) uncomfortable comments or [sexism](http://motto.time.com/4503598/workplace-sexism-study-heels-makeup-women/) in the workplace. It’s [well documented ](https://lsa.umich.edu/psych/lilia-cortina-lab/Cortina&Berdahl.2008.pdf)that most women don’t report experiencing sexual harassment, primarily because they fear retribution, humiliation and damage to their careers or reputation. A 2012 study [found](https://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/mygsb/faculty/research/pubfiles/10512/double%5Fvictimization.pdf) that women often react passively to sexual harassment, even when they believe that they’re the type of person to call out the behavior. It’s the norm to stay silent in Perry’s field, as well: A [study ](https://www.iwmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Violence-and-Harassment-against-Women-in-the-News-Media.pdf)from the International Women’s Media Foundation found that nearly 48% of female journalists have experienced sexual harassment on the job — but only about 17% reported it. [Some women](https://www.elephantinthevalley.com/stories/sexual-harassment/) have anecdotally [said](http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2016/an-overriding-view-that-women-should-laugh-it-off/) that their bosses or co-workers tell them to just [“laugh off”](https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/oct/07/sexual-harassment-rife-restaurant-industry-women) harassment or take it in stride. And many [women](https://twitter.com/amy%5Fodonnell/status/836937296549036032) have said that [their first instinct](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/us/inquiry-opens-into-how-30000-marines-shared-illicit-images-of-female-peers.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur) when they’re [the subject of inappropriate comments](http://www.businessinsider.com/cindy-gallop-on-cannes-sexual-harassment-and-why-50-of-managers-should-be-women-2015-6) is to just [“laugh it off,” ](http://people.com/celebrity/megyn-kelly-advice-women-facing-sexual-harassment/)hoping that it will stop or quell the behavior. Even [Ivanka Trump](http://motto.time.com/4726085/ivanka-trump-disagrees-with-donald-cbs-interview/), White House adviser and first daughter. In her 2009 book _The Trump Card_, she [wrote](http://motto.time.com/4435945/ivanka-trump-wrote-about-being-sexually-harassed-by-construction-workers/) about being cat-called by construction workers on development sites. “I’d laugh it off and act as it it were no big deal,” she [wrote](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/02/eric-trump-donald-ivanka-sexual-harassment) about her response after the construction workers realized she was the boss’ daughter. She also [discussed](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/02/eric-trump-donald-ivanka-sexual-harassment) struggling to figure out the best way to respond in these incidents. “I kept reminding myself, my new boss would be observing my reaction, which meant that if anything like that happened it would put me into an uncomfortable, no-win situation. If I ignored the inappropriate remarks, I might come across as weak. If I responded too harshly, I’d be a tightly wound witch.” “Sexual harassment is never acceptable, and we must stand against it,” she [added in the book](http://motto.time.com/4435945/ivanka-trump-wrote-about-being-sexually-harassed-by-construction-workers/). “At the same time, we must recognize that our coworkers come in all shapes, stripes and sizes. What might be offensive to one person might appear harmless to another. Learn to figure out when a hoot or holler is indeed a form of harassment and when it’s merely a good-natured tease that you can give back in kind.” For many women, Perry’s experience was a real-time example of the dilemma many women face in their own workplaces: how to best respond to inappropriate comments coming from a person in a position of power over you. “If women laugh or smile in response to being abused or harassed, it’s an act of self-preservation,” one Twitter user [wrote](https://twitter.com/andreagrimes/status/879880162422083584). > [](https://twitter.com/andreagrimes/status/879880162422083584) > [](https://twitter.com/GynoStar/status/879885198988464128) > [](https://twitter.com/K%5Fbowes/status/880004974582915072) > [](https://twitter.com/ajunay1314/status/880040076100677632) > [](https://twitter.com/StillIndy/status/879875281720365056) > [](https://twitter.com/neufferceci/status/880091608095625216) > [](https://twitter.com/JetRose1313/status/880101330043273216) > [](https://twitter.com/lacunalingua/status/880111836351410181) > [](https://twitter.com/jesseberney/status/879879831609016323) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4836942/donald-trump-nice-smile-reporter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4836942/donald-trump-nice-smile-reporter/"},"headline":"President Trump’s ‘Nice Smile’ Comment Recalls Ivanka Trump’s Own Experience With Harassment","datePublished":"2017-06-28T20:05:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:05:45.670Z","description":"‘Laugh it off’ is how many women say they handle inappropriate behavior","url":"https://time.com/4836942/donald-trump-nice-smile-reporter/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86eb3bcd54445462/6988d3a38fd2ee03db357c1a/gettyimages-802041584.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Cooney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86eb3bcd54445462/6988d3a38fd2ee03db357c1a/gettyimages-802041584.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-IRELAND-POLITICS","caption":"US-IRELAND-POLITICS","creditText":"Nicholas Kamm—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4836942/donald-trump-nice-smile-reporter/","name":"President Trump’s ‘Nice Smile’ Comment Recalls Ivanka Trump’s Own Experience With Harassment"}}]}] ```