Ivanka Trump's Debate Presence Could Be Critical

It's no secret that Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump's oldest daughter, has played an instrumental role in his presidential run. POLITICO wrote that Ivanka "has grown up to occupy a singularly important role in his unlikely campaign." It's little wonder she had the coveted spot at the Republican National Convention of introducing her father for his acceptance speech. But will Ivanka Trump be at the first presidential debate?

If the way Trump's championed his trusted daughter confidant so far is any indication, she definitely will be. On Sep. 26, Trump and Hillary Clinton will face off in the first presidential debate of the season. In the past, during breaks at the previous Republican primary debates, "it was Ivanka, one of Donald Trump's five children, with whom he huddled," the Associated Press noted.

Ivanka's been skillfully exerting influence on her father's campaign for the majority of it. In fact, she introduced him when he announced he was running for president. And when her father needed a character witness of sorts to defend his misogynistic slurs that turned into a further investigation on how he's treated women in the past (remember what he said about Megyn Kelly? Carly Fiorina?), she went to great lengths to publicly stand up for her dad.

During an interview with CBS News in response to a New York Times report claiming that Trump was inappropriate with professional colleagues who were women.

Most of the time, when stories are inaccurate, they're not discredited and I will be frustrated by that. But in this case, I think they went so far. ... This is an article that is widely being discredited. The lead person who was interviewed — for the story and that the story opens up with — was all over the news yesterday, saying that they manipulated what she was saying. So you know, I don't find it that meaningful to comment on this particular story because I think the facts are starting to speak for themselves.

Ivanka has not only been an important voice in combating allegations that her father doesn't respect women, but in pushing for a new child-care policy. According to The Washington Post, the new policy would be funded by eliminating fraud in the unemployment insurance program and promises to lower child-care costs for women (the policy is not transferable to men).

Ivanka has played a major role in other functions of the campaign, too. According to a report in CNN, Ivanka was the one ultimately responsible for getting rid of Corey Lewandowski, his first campaign manager; the article said she "sat down with her father ... and convinced him to let Lewandowski go — even offering an ultimatum of sorts about her own continued involvement with the campaign." Her responsibilities even extend to meeting with major political figures on her father's behalf, most recently in a conference with Paul Ryan.

Now, she's become such a primary player in the campaign that she's even been granted a Secret Service detail — the only Trump sibling to be given the security. It's hard not to think she won't be at the first presidential debate, by her father's side.