Twitter mocks Ivanka Trump as ‘Nepotism Barbie’ over father’s skill-based hiring initiative

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Ivanka Trump was blasted on Friday after she touted a new White House initiative that promotes ‘skills-based’ hiring as Twitter users called her ‘Nepotism Barbie’.

President Trump’s eldest daughter appeared alongside her father at the White House on Friday as he signed an executive order directing the federal government to overhaul its hiring to prioritize a job applicant’s skills over a college degree.

The president signed the order outlining a new direction for the nation’s largest employer during a meeting of the board that advises the administration on worker policy.

Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and adviser, is co-chair of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board and has worked on improving job training to meet employers’ changing needs.

The federal government is the nation’s largest employer with 2.1 million civilian workers, excluding postal service employees.

Ivanka Trump predicted the change in federal government hiring would create a more inclusive and talented workforce.

She encouraged the private sector to follow the administration’s lead.

‘We are modernizing federal hiring to find candidates with the relevant competencies and knowledge, rather than simply recruiting based on degree requirements,’ she told The Associated Press in a statement.

‘We encourage employers everywhere to take a look at their hiring practices and think critically about how initiatives like these can help diversify and strengthen their workforce.’

On social media, however, critics of the president said that Ivanka Trump’s position as a White House adviser was a result of her father being elected.

The backlash on Twitter was so fierce that the hashtags #NepotismBarbie and #ByeIvanka were trending.

One Twitter user posted a mock book cover titled ‘The Ivanka Trump Mystery Stories: The Case of the Narcissist’s Unqualified Daughter.’

The book cover, which is a play on the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series by the pseudonymic author Carolyn Keene, shows Ivanka Trump with a flashlight climbing up some stairs.

Another Twitter user referred to Ivanka Trump as ‘Kremlin Barbie’, saying she ‘(raspily) claims that her daddy hires the “best people” based on their “skill” and “competency.”

‘Yet Trump hired Ivanka and know-nothing Kush.’

‘Kush’ is a reference to Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, the real estate heir who is also a senior adviser to his father-in-law, the president.

Kushner has also been roundly criticized for wielding power in the Trump administration even though he had no prior experience as a public servant before the 2016 election.

Comedian Marie Connor tweeted: ‘What’s scarier than socialism?

‘Nepotism.’

Another Twitter user wrote: ‘Abolishing education requirements for federal employees is right on brand for people like the Trumps, who rely on solely on nepotism rather than actual achievements.’

One Twitter user was also scathing, writing: ‘Nepotism Barbie is nothing more hushed voice, fake smiling, phony grifter who, like her daddy, is always and only, driven by her need for more money & more power.

‘She’s a con and she’s a fraud.

‘She has no business serving in any administration, and she needs to go.’

Another Twitter user wrote: ‘So nepotism is now a skill?’

Kim Mangone, a Democrat running against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for the 23rd congressional district seat this November, tweeted: ‘Retweet if you think Ivanka Trump is a disgrace.’

Magone’s tweet was retweeted more than 9,000 times.

The official Twitter account of The Lincoln Project, a group made up of Never Trump Republicans, tweeted: ‘Bring your daughter to work day. Every day.’

Ivanka Trump on Friday praised her father for the initiative.

 ‘You are once again leading by example today with the EO signing,’ she said to her father during the meeting.

‘As the nation’s largest employer, we are always seeking to retain the best and the brightest to serve the American people.

‘Today we’re taking that next step, as you mentioned, and signing an executive order that directs federal agencies to hire based on skills and knowledge not just outdated degree requirements,’ Ivanka continued. 

‘This will allow us to better recognize the talents and competencies of all Americans we hire.’

President Trump struck the same tone as he discussed the order at the meeting, stating that it would ‘replace outdated … degree-based hiring with skills-based hiring.

‘The federal government will no longer be narrowly focused on where you went to school but the skills and the talents that you bring to the job,’ he said.  

Ivanka continued to praise the president as she addressed him and the rest of the board, claiming that ‘you built once the most inclusive economy in this country’s history and you’ll build it again’. 

She added praise for his response to the coronavirus and providing aid to workers as unemployment figures soared.   

‘Last December, you fought for and secured paid leave for every federal worker,’ she said. 

‘This was a first – creating a workplace that reflect our American values of both work and family and helping us retain talent. 

‘It’s also why you fought so hard this spring when COVID hit to secure paid sick leave for Americans employed by small businesses and additional funding for childcare providers,’ she added, ‘helping millions and millions of Americans remain employed and providing relief to small businesses across the country. 

‘This is going to ensure a stronger and faster recovery.’

Ivanka Trump predicted the change in federal government hiring would create a more inclusive and talented workforce. 

She encouraged the private sector to follow the administration’s lead.

‘We are modernizing federal hiring to find candidates with the relevant competencies and knowledge, rather than simply recruiting based on degree requirements,’ she said in a statement.

‘We encourage employers everywhere to take a look at their hiring practices and think critically about how initiatives like these can help diversify and strengthen their workforce.’

‘Through our pledge to America’s workers, the private sector has committed to the training and education of over 16million American students and workers and this continues despite the vast change that the plague ushered in,’ she said in Friday’s meeting. 

‘They’ve been using their pledge commitment and fulfilling it by providing free tech training to American workers laid off as a result of COVID-19.’

The federal government is the nation’s largest employer with 2.1 million civilian workers, excluding postal service employees.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board’s other co-chair, said the need for skills training and apprenticeships is as great as it was before the coronavirus pandemic forced millions of people out of work, pushing the national unemployment rate above 13 percent in May.

‘Americans are eager to get to work but they need our help,’ Ross told AP.

The White House isn’t eliminating degree requirements altogether but instead will stress skills in jobs where having a degree is less important.

Aides say the change will create more opportunities for Americans to work for the federal government by recognizing that some learning happens outside of classrooms.

Ivanka Trump and other administration officials have pushed to increase opportunities for apprenticeships and have promoted such training and vocational education as alternatives to traditional two-year or four-year college degree programs.

The Office of Personnel Management will be responsible for implementing the president’s order.

IBM is among the companies that have moved in this direction. 

Last year, 15 percent of its new U.S. hires had nontraditional backgrounds because they were evaluated based on skills instead of looking only at their degrees, Ginni Rometty, the company´s executive chairman, said via the White House.

‘We hired from new areas of the country, including under-served communities, and this promoted more diversity in the applications we received,’ said Rometty.

At the meeting, the workforce advisory board also announced details of a private-sector ad campaign led by Apple, IBM and the nonprofit Ad Council to promote alternate pathways to education.