Cleveland, Ohio, USA, 19th July, 2016 Ivanka Trump oldest daughter of Donald Trump sits in the family box at the Republican National Convention
In contrast to the snarky, combative attacks of her brother, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump often tries to put an intellectual spin on the MAGA movement. She will quote the Founding Fathers, or reference political philosophies in her social media posts. But according to journalist Matt Johnson, Ivanka Trump is missing the mark badly when it comes to the philosophy known as Stoicism.
Johnson, writing in the conservative website The Bulwark, notes her specific comments on Stoicism and the pushback she is getting from author Ryan Holiday, an expert on Stoicism.
Ivanka Trump, in an April interview, said of Stoicism, "Marcus Aurelius' 'Meditations' is so informative on so many levels. He once wrote that the soul becomes dyed the color of its thoughts. And I think about that all the time."
Roman Emperor Aurelius, according to historians, lived from 121-180 AD. And he began writing his "Meditations" series in 161 AD.
According to Holiday, Ivanka Trump quoted Aurelius accurately but is "just not living or acting in accordance with it in any way."
Holiday, in a video response posted on X, told Ivanka Trump, "If you did, you’d have an intervention with your dad…. The only similarity you have with the Aurelius family is that you're a Commodus! And so are your s–– brothers."
Johnson, in The Bulwark, notes that MAGA Republicans are accusing Holiday of having "Trump derangement syndrome."
"Holiday's MAGA critics seem to assume that Stoicism preaches political quietism, but this isn't true," Johnson argues. "'Meditations' is crammed with insights about the importance of civic responsibility, especially for those in power. When Aurelius warned that the soul will be dyed the color of one's thoughts, he also gave himself a reminder that Ivanka might want to reread: 'Take care not to be Caesarified' — or 'stained purple,' as Holiday's own site puts it."
Johnson continues, "Some of Aurelius' political observations were remarkably progressive for his time — he called for a 'polity in which there is the same law for all, a polity administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom of speech.' Perhaps Ivanka urged her father to review this Stoic appeal as he attempted to have his political opponents thrown in prison for constitutionally protected speech, but I doubt it."