Ivanka Trump Says Malia Obama Should be ‘Off Limits’ After Video Surfaces

Assistant to the President and Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump hosts a listening session with military spouses in the Rooselvelt Room at the White House August 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Donald Trump, came to the defense of former President Barack Obama’s daughter, Malia, after a video appeared online showing the 19-year-old smoking and blowing rings.

“Malia Obama should be allowed the same privacy as her school-aged peers. She is a young adult and private citizen, and should be OFF limits,” Ivanka Trump said in a tweet.

The video has since been deleted from Instagram. Several websites picked up the video over the weekend.

Malia, the eldest daughter of the former president and former first lady, Michelle Obama, started attending Harvard University in August.

On Friday, former first daughter Chelsea Clinton tweeted: “Malia Obama’s private life, as a young woman, a college student, a private citizen, should not be your clickbait. Be better.”

Clinton also came to the defense of Barron Trump, President Trump’s youngest son, earlier this year.

In 2013, the White House slammed the press for posting pictures of Malia’s vacation in Mexico online.

“From the beginning of the administration, the White House has asked news outlets not to report on or photograph the Obama children when they are not with their parents and there is no vital news interest,” Kristina Schake, the ex-spokeswoman for the former first lady, said at the time, according to CBS. “We have reminded outlets of this request in order to protect the privacy and security of these girls.”

Hours after President Trump was sworn into office in January 2017, a National Post writer made a crude comment about Barron. The writer, Ashley Csanady, left the tweet up for a day before she deleted it and apologized. “Saturday Night Live” writer Katie Rich also deleted a tweet predicting that “Barron will be this country’s first homeschool shooter.”

The controversy this weekend prompted some on Twitter to question the narrative, saying attacks on Barron, 11, reveal a double-standard in the media.

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