Politics can be a dirty world and it can even break the ties that bind long-standing friendships. No one feels the pressure and tension surrounding this fact more than Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton, the daughters of presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. These women are actually good friends, but things might be different now that the 2016 U.S. election campaign is heating up.
Ivanka Trump recently admitted to People that there has been "tremendous intensity" between her and Chelsea Clinton since the campaign. Despite this, she still considers Chelsea a good friend and has high respects for her, but she acknowledges there could be a gap right now. "We're both incredibly supportive of our parents, as we should be," Ivanka Trump said.
Ivanka Trump actually became close to Chelsea Clinton not because of their parents -- who are also long-time friends -- but because of their respective husbands who have brought them together, according to Politico. The two would then grace red carpet events together and because of their backgrounds as children of high profile parents, Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton seem to empathize with each other really well. They also almost chart the same paths in life as newly-married moms with small children who run their parents' organization or foundation. Observers note that this is perhaps why they really click together.
A quick history of the surprising friendship between Chelsea Clinton and Ivanka Trump https://t.co/IvH3FDPHG1 pic.twitter.com/UB1GE3KcO3
— SBS 2 (@SBS2) July 22, 2016
In early 2015, Chelsea Clinton spoke about her friendship with Ivanka via Vogue. She said that Ivanka Trump's charm and sincerity reminds her of her own father. "There's nothing skin-deep about Ivanka," she told the magazine, adding "certainly anyone as gorgeous as she is could have probably gone quite far being skin-deep."
According to people close to the two women, the campaign has really been a big blow to their friendship, hence the two have decided to steer clear of public appearances together for now. "They basically have to put their friendship on pause because their parents are ripping each other to shreds," said a source via New York Post. Their common friends expect things will go back to normal once the elections are over. After all, both women believe that their friendship isn't politically-motivated at all.
