Ivanka Trump Lobbies Women In Prime-Time Convention Speech

Ivanka Trump is thought to be one of Donald Trump's most influential advisers, a person who can persuade him to hire or fire someone. She has also become one of his most forceful surrogates this election.

Introducing her father Thursday night at the Republican National Convention — perhaps her biggest stage yet — Ivanka, 34, praised his business sense and ability to "see potential in others" and gave personal anecdotes about his character as a father. She also made a big push for a vital demographic with which her father struggles — women.

"For more than a year, Donald Trump has been the people's champion. And tonight, he is the people's nominee," she said to cheers. "This is the moment and Donald Trump is the person to make America great again."

"He taught us that there is nothing we can't accomplish," she said.

She described his record of hiring women to work for him before similar companies did.

"He is colorblind and gender neutral," she said to applause. "When Donald Trump is in charge, all that counts is ability, excellence and effort."

She once described her father to a reporter from Fortune magazine as someone who is very candid. "I am probably not as likely to say what's on my mind and I think most people aren't," she said. "So I admire his ability to do it, it's not something I would always want to be doing. That's why I'm not a politician."

Polls show a majority of women have an unfavorable opinion of Donald Trump. The big question is, can Ivanka persuade some female voters to support her father?

Libby Wuller, who recently attended a party hosted by RightNOW Women's PAC, which works to get Republican women into office, said although she is no fan of Trump and his rhetoric about women, she is impressed with Ivanka.

"She's intelligent; she's strong-willed; she has an entrepreneurial spirit. Being a young woman working in the startup space, these are qualities I admire in her," Wuller said. Despite liking those qualities, however, Wuller said it's not enough to make her cast her vote for Donald Trump.

However, another young woman, Larissa Martinez, said Ivanka could influence this campaign. "I think she could actually help her father and her father's operation when it comes to outreach to women because I think there's a lot of Republican women that identify with some of the balances with family versus professional," she said. "She's very eloquent, she speaks very well and I think that she could help mold the way he talks to women."

At a millennial town hall in Cleveland, a large group of young Republicans agreed that Ivanka is their favorite member of the Trump family.

One of those voters, Gabby Lurrs, said she admires Ivanka's beauty and poise and that her appeal has nothing to do with political issues.

"She probably keeps her thoughts to herself a little more than her dad does," Lurrs said. "But I don't know her views on everything. And I don't think anyone does, because she kind of keeps it to herself."

Another woman at the town hall, Isabel Reid, isn't sure she will vote for Trump, but she does appreciate that Ivanka is one of his close advisers. "She comes off as being intelligent, a smart businesswoman, and someone who's more informed than her father," Reid said.

This goodwill for Ivanka may prove to be a powerful political weapon for her father. And while she might not be able to flip votes, she could very well solidify support for him.

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