Ivanka Trump Says Donald Trump Is Not Sexist Because He Hired Her

Donald Trump has earned plenty of feminist critics for his remarks about women—from calling a lawyer about to pump breastmilk “disgusting” to speculating that he would perhaps date Ivanka if she were not his daughter. But Ivanka says it’s not possible that her father is sexist, because he gave her a leadership role in his company.

“He’s absolutely not a sexist,” she said in an interview with CNN. “There’s no way I could be the person I am today if my father was a sexist. I would not be one of his senior-most executives and I would not be working shoulder to shoulder with my brothers. I would be working for my brothers if at all. I think actions ultimately speak louder than words. My father has 40 years of history of employing women.”

Critics may note that it’s possible to respect your daughter without showing respect or understanding for women in general, and men can often treat their own daughters as an exception to the rule. As Jill Filipovic put it in the New York Times, some men want to “marry Melanias and raise Ivankas.”