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The Trump family has never hidden their dislike for Kamala Harris. During the 2024 presidential race, Donald Trump made her his metaphorical punching bag, calling her all sorts of names, including "mentally impaired" and "lazy as hell," and claimed she did a "sh***y" job as vice president. But here's something even hardcore MAGA folks may not know: years before the insults came, the Trumps were writing Harris checks. Yes, actual checks. Even her so-called favorite daughter, Ivanka Trump, threw money at Harris at one point.
Flashback to the early 2010s, and the Trumps were surprisingly on Team Harris — or at least it seemed that way. In 2011, as Harris sought reelection as California's attorney general, Donald reportedly forked over $5,000 in September of that year and followed up with another $1,000 in 2013. Following her dad's footsteps, Ivanka reportedly chipped in $2,000 in 2014. But of course, when those donations resurfaced, Trump's camp scrambled for an explanation. His spokesman, Steven Cheung, brushed it off as a savvy business move. "At that time, some 15 years ago, President Trump was a global businessman and knew how to play the game and win the game with corrupt politicians like Kamala Harris," he said in a statement shared with People.
And Ivanka? True to her brand, she stayed mum about the whole thing, but her past as a long-time Democrat probably fills in the blanks. Like father, like daughter, after all. Harris reportedly didn't even want their money. Most of the donations went elsewhere, proving she wasn't too keen about letting Trump dollars touch her political career. Who can blame her, really?
Kamala reportedly did not keep any of the donations
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As it turns out, there's more to Donald and Ivanka Trump donating to Kamala Harris than just business. According to The Washington Post, Donald claimed in an affidavit that he did it to keep then-New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman happy. Apparently, someone close to Schneiderman "asked my daughter Ivanka if she would arrange for me to make a contribution to a fundraising event sponsored by Schneiderman for newly elected California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris."
But here's the fun part — Kamala Harris never actually used Donald's money for her campaign. Her spokesperson, Ian Sams, told The Sacramento Bee that when she won the reelection, the $6,000 total went straight to a non-profit helping Central Americans. As for Ivanka Trump's $2,000? No official word on that, but odds are it found a similar fate. But since then, she has gone from Democratic donor to full-on MAGA princess, standing proudly by her father's side — at least until she traded politics for pilates and a life of showing off her sculpted killer abs. If she hadn't pivoted to being what is essentially a fitness influencer, Ivanka would probably be leading the family charge against Harris — just like dear old dad.
"I am a proud Trump Republican," she once told The New York Times. "I believe he's broadened the reach of the Republican Party, which is really important to me." Sure, Ivanka! But we won't forget that before you went all in on red, you were signing checks for the blue team.