--- title: Ivanka Trump Scientist Meme Goes Viral After Science Photo description: All Ivanka Trump had to do was tour an education facility for the viral Ivanka Trump scientist meme to be born. canonical: https://time.com/5207369/ivanka-trump-scientist-meme/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-20T17:46:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:18.346Z og:title: Ivanka Trump's Photo Opp Became the Ivanka Science Meme og:description: The internet couldn't resist the shot of her in a lab coat and goggles og:url: https://time.com/5207369/ivanka-trump-scientist-meme/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ivanka Trump's Photo Opp Became the Ivanka Science Meme twitter:description: The internet couldn't resist the shot of her in a lab coat and goggles twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Ivanka Trump's Latest Photo Op Became a Meme Because Of Course It Did > 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=8f9b743c-8d0b-40e8-8d3c-1bbf85077b1c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Ivanka Trump Wants to Get More Women Working in STEM Jobs [Watch (HLS stream): Ivanka Trump Wants to Get More Women Working in STEM Jobs](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jlY94X17.m3u8) (1:28)  _Published 2017-04-04. Women represent only 24% of the field._ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Mar 20, 2018 5:46 PM UTC by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Mar 20, 2018 5:46 PM UTC First Daughter [Ivanka Trump](http://time.com/ivanka-trump-pictures-photographs/)‘s photo ops have a way of turning into memes, so it shouldn’t have surprised anyone that when she donned a lab coat and safety goggles the internet would react. Since her father got into politics, the White House adviser has received mixed reactions from even fairly standard photo opportunities, whether it’s [an Instagram with her husband](https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/politics/news/a9437/ivanka-trump-instagram-post/) in formal wear or [an awkward hug](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a10198629/ivanka-trump-marco-rubio-hug-meme/) with a senator. The cycle repeated again as Trump toured The Waukee Innovation and Learning Center in Iowa Monday. A longtime advocate for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (or [STEM](http://time.com/4507720/stem-skills-equalizer/)), Trump spearheaded an [Education Department effort](https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/25/politics/ivanka-trump-stem-computer-science/index.html) to address the sweeping shift of jobs to the worlds of computer science and coding. And she got vocal about representation of women and minorities in the at the [World Assembly for Women summit](http://fortune.com/2017/11/02/ivanka-trump-women-stem-japan/) in Tokyo in November. “Female and minority participation in STEM fields is moving in the wrong direction,” she said at the summit. “We must create equal participation in these traditionally male-dominated sectors of our economy.” > [](https://twitter.com/ivankatrump/status/836724632891895808) But critics found the image of her in a lab coat irresistible. > [](https://twitter.com/IvankaTrump/status/975859066273660932) > [](https://twitter.com/IvankaTrump/status/975792930005929985) While it’s possible that all visitors are required to wear protective gear, that didn’t stop people from saying she was “cosplaying” as a scientist. Here’s how the internet transformed the photo. > [](https://twitter.com/RogueNASA/status/975940884079538176) > [](https://twitter.com/MaryViglione/status/975903268911054850) > [](https://twitter.com/Lubchansky/status/976068066948927489) > [](https://twitter.com/killawattannie/status/975862662482468865) > [](https://twitter.com/absolutspacegrl/status/975937770702213120) > [](https://twitter.com/MauroGM3/status/975919371792068608) > [](https://twitter.com/ACTOROUTONLOAN/status/976141643333165061) Enter the inevitable pop culture takes. > [](https://twitter.com/Miguel%5FM1GS/status/975903096927764480) > [](https://twitter.com/veronicamariez2/status/975964316401770496) > [](https://twitter.com/TheDweck/status/976060708218695680) Some people praised her efforts. > [](https://twitter.com/ScottyshSin/status/975866942316793856) Some have argued that having fun at Trump’s expense is sexist. > [](https://twitter.com/HankCampbell/status/976101761676136448) Or simply that it’s just her critics targeting her. > [](https://twitter.com/PatrickLGray/status/976123682983743488) The photo even launched a Photoshop Battle [on reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/photoshopbattles/comments/85speb/psbattle%5Fa%5Fwoman%5Fwith%5Fgloves%5Fpouring%5Fsomething/) where people edited Ivanka into all of the scenarios it wished to see, from styling her father’s hair to playtime with dinosaurs. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5207369/ivanka-trump-scientist-meme/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5207369/ivanka-trump-scientist-meme/"},"headline":"Ivanka Trump's Latest Photo Op Became a Meme Because Of Course It Did","datePublished":"2018-03-20T17:46:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:47:18.346Z","description":"All Ivanka Trump had to do was tour an education facility for the viral Ivanka Trump scientist meme to be born.","url":"https://time.com/5207369/ivanka-trump-scientist-meme/","keywords":["Newsfeed"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"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":"https://time.com/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5207369/ivanka-trump-scientist-meme/","name":"Ivanka Trump's Latest Photo Op Became a Meme Because Of Course It Did"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Ivanka Trump Wants to Get More Women Working in STEM Jobs","description":"Women represent only 24% of the field.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/jlY94X17/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-04-04T18:12:47.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jlY94X17.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5207369/ivanka-trump-scientist-meme/","duration":"PT1M28S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5207369/ivanka-trump-scientist-meme/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```