Mr. Trump lacks a lot of things, but Choate spirit is not one of them. Illustration by Julian Yau ’18.
Throughout this election cycle, it seems as if no newspaper, political conversation, or Facebook “Trending” feed is complete without at least one mention of the infamous Mr. Donald Trump. His — shall we say — interesting personality has been at the forefront of popular media throughout the election season. One aspect of his character has yet to be fully explored, however. As much as we would perhaps like to pretend otherwise, Mr. Trump is a Choate dad.
Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka is a member of the Choate class of 2000. Faculty members who taught or otherwise knew her agree that her personality is very different from her father’s. Mr. Jim Davidson, for example, said, “I had her in a class way back when. My impression of her was that she was hardworking, sharp, socially skilled and a good kid.” Mr. Stephen Farrell, who was also at Choate when Ivanka attended, agreed. “One of my impressions of her was that she is very, very intelligent. She is professional.”
Faculty interactions with Mr. Trump as a Choate parent were limited and fairly ordinary. Mr. Davidson described one chance encounter while with his son at the dining hall; Mr. Trump came over to their table. “He very normally pushed a matchbox car back and forth with my son. It was no big deal. I was just struck by how he didn’t bring attention to himself in any way.”
Mr. Michael Velez ’00, who was in Ivanka’s graduating class, and is now the school’s fourth-form dean, said, “I met him a couple of times, very much on the hello-and-that’s-it side. There were no extended conversations or anything like that.” Could it be? The notorious Mr. Trump — a normal human being?
Mr. Farrell, however, offered a slightly different story. “The only time I saw Donald Trump on campus was at graduation with his security guard. He conveyed the exact same image he does now as a presidential candidate, of importance and self-satisfaction.”
Mr. Trump once said, “If Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her,” but Mr. Farrell cautioned not to conflate the candidate’s antics with his daughter’s personality. “I would never want her smeared with the same paintbrush that is smearing him because she is very different from her father. She is a very wise woman, and I would advise people to distinguish between them,” he said. After all, like father, not necessarily like daughter.
