IVANKA TRUMP: Think Big Again

IVANKA TRUMP: Think Big Again

Good evening. Thank you. One year ago, I introduced my father when he declared his candidacy. In his own way, and through his own sheer force of will, he sacrificed greatly to enter the political arena as an outsider. And he prevailed against a field of 16 very talented competitors. For more than a year, Donald Trump has been the people’s champion, and tonight he’s the people’s nominee. Like many of my fellow millenials, I do not consider myself categorically Republican or Democrat. More than party affiliation, I vote on based on what I believe is right, for my family and for my country. Sometimes it’s a tough choice. That is not the case this time.

As the proud daughter of your nominee, I am here to tell you that this is the moment and Donald Trump is the person to make America great again. Real change, the kind we have not seen in decades is only going to come from outside the system. And it’s only going to come from a man who’s spent his entire life doing what others said could not be done. My father is a fighter. When the primaries got tough and they were tough, he did what any great leader does. He dug deeper, worked harder, got better and became stronger. I have seen him fight for his family.

 I have seen him fight for his employees. I have seen him fight for his company. And now, I am seeing him fight for our country. It’s been the story of his life and more recently the spirit of his campaign. It’s also a prelude to reaching the goal that unites us all. When this party and better still this country knows what it is like to win again. If it’s possible to be famous and yet not really well done, that describes the father who raised me. In the same office in Trump Tower, where we now work together, I remember playing on the floor by my father’s desk, constructing miniature buildings with Legos and Erector sets, while he did the same with concrete steel and glass. My father taught my siblings and me the importanceof positive values and a strong ethical compass. He showed us how to be resilient, how to dealwith challenges and how to strive for excellence in all that we do. He taught us that there’s nothing that wecannot accomplish, if we marry vision and passion with an enduring work ethic.

 One of my father’s greatest talents is the ability to see potential in people, before they see it in themselves. It was like that for us to growing up. He taught us that potential vanishes intonothing without effort. And like him, we each had a responsibilityto work, not just for ourselves but for the betterment of the world around us. Over the years, on too many occasions to count,I saw my father tear stories out of the newspaper about people whom he had never met, who werefacing some injustice or hardship. He’d write a note to his assistant, in a signature black felt tip pen, and request that the person be found and invited to Trump Tower to meet with him. He would talk to them and then draw upon his extensive network to find them a job or get them a break. And they would leave his office, as people so often do after having been with Donald Trump, feeling that life could be great again. Throughout my entire life, I have witnessed his empathy and generosity towards other, especially those who are suffering. It is just his way of being in your corner when you’re down.

My father not only has the strength and ability necessary to be our next President, but also the kindness and compassion that will enablehim to be the leader that this country needs. My father has a sense of fairness that touchesevery conviction he’s hold. I worked along side of him for now more thana decade now at the Trump Organization and I’ve seen how he operates as a leader. Making important decisions that shape careersand that change lives. I’ve learned a lot about the world from walking construction jobs by his side. When run properly, construction sites aretrue meritocracies. Competence in the building trades is easy to spot and incompetence is impossible to hide. These sites are also incredible melting pots,gathering people from all walks of life and uniting them to work towards a single mission. There have always been men of all background and ethnicities on my father’s job sites. And long before it was common place, you also saw women.

My father values talent. He recognizes real knowledge and skill whenhe finds it. 

He is color blind and gender neutral. He hires the best person for the job, period. Words and promises, no matter visionary they sound will only get you so far. In our business, you’re not a builder, unlessyou’ve got a building to show for it, or in my father’s case, city skylines. Most people strive their entire lives to achievegreat success in a single industry. My father has succeeded in many on the highestlevel and on a global scale. One of the reasons he has thrived as an entrepreneuris because he listens to everyone. Billionaire executives don’t usually askthe people doing the work for their opinion of the work. My father is an exception. TRUMP: On every one of his projects, you’llsee him talking to the super, the painter, the engineers, the electricians, he’ll askthem for their feedback, if they think something should be done differently, or could be donebetter. When Donald Trump is in charge, all that countsis ability, effort and excellence. This has long been the philosophy at the TrumpOrganization. At my father’s company, there are more femalethan male executives.

Women are paid equally for the work that wedo and when a woman becomes a mother, she is supported, not shut out. Women represent 46 percent of the total U.S.labor force, and 40 percent of American households have female primary breadwinners. In 2014, women made 83 cents for every dollarmade by a man. Single women without children earn 94 centsfor each dollar earned by a man, whereas married mothers made only 77 cents. As researchers have noted, gender is no longerthe factor creating the greatest wage discrepancy in this country, motherhood is. As President, my father will change the laborlaws that were put into place at a time when women were not a significant portion of theworkforce. And he will focus on making quality childcareaffordable and accessible for all. As a mother myself, of three young children,I know how hard it is to work while raising a family. And I also know that I’m far more fortunatethan most. American families need relief. Policies that allow women with children tothrive should not be novelties, they should be the norm. Politicians talk about wage equality, butmy father has made it a practice at his company throughout his entire career. He will fight for equal pay for equal work,and I will fight for this too, right along side of him. Americans today need an economy that permitspeople to rise again.

A Trump Presidency will turn the economy aroundand restore the great American tradition of giving each new generation hope for brighteropportunities than those of the generation that came before. In Donald Trump, you have a candidate whoknows the difference between wanting something done and making it happen. When my father says that he will build a tower,keep an eye on the skyline. Floor by floor a soaring structure will appear,usually record setting in its height and iconic in its design. Real people are hired to do real work. Vision becomes reality. When my father says that he will make Americagreat again, he will deliver. We have a chance this year, to reclaim ourheritage as a country that dreams big and makes the impossible happen. Fortunately, Donald Trump is incapable ofthinking small. When I was a child, my father always toldme, Ivanka if you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big. As President, my father will take on the boldand worthy fights. He will be unafraid to set lofty goals andhe will be relentless in his determination to achieve them.

To people all over America, I say, when youhave my father in your corner, you will never again have to worry about being let down. He will fight for you all the time, all theway, every time. Maybe it’s the developer in him, but DonaldTrump cannot stand to see empty main streets and boarded up factories. He can’t bear the injustice of college graduateswho are crippled by student debt, and mothers who can’t afford of the childcare requiredto return to work to better the lives of their families. Other politicians see these hardships, seethe unfairness of it all, and they say I feel for you. Only my father will say, I’ll fight foryou. The hard working men and women of this countryidentify with my father. He is tough and he is persevering. He is honest and he is real. He’s an optimist and he’s a relentlessbeliever in America and all of her potential.

 He loves his family and he loves his countrywith his heart and his soul. Politicians ask to be judged by their promises,not their results. I ask you to judge my father by his results. Judge his values by those he’s instilledin his children. Judge his competency by the towers he’sbuilt, the companies he’s founded, and the tens of thousands of jobs he’s created. He is the single most qualified serve as chiefexecutive of an $18 trillion economy. My father will call upon the best and brightestpeople from all spheres of industry and both side of the aisle. A new set of thinkers, to face our countriesexisting and future problems with fresh perspective and brave new solutions. Come January 17, all things will be possibleagain. We can hope and dream and think big again. No one has more faith in the American peoplethan my father. He will be your greatest, your truest andyour most loyal champion. This is the fighter, the doer that you havechosen as your nominee, in ways no one expected, this moment in the life of our country hasdefined a mission and given it to an extraordinary man.

 He is ready to see it all the way through,to speak to every man and every woman, of every background, in every part of this greatcountry. To earn your trust and to earn your vote. He earned that and much more from me a longtime ago. I’ve loved and respected him, my entirelife. And I could not be more proud tonight, topresent to you and to all of America, my father and our next President, Donald J. Trump.