Ivanka Trump visited Rocky River in Northeast Ohio on Friday. In front of an invitation-only crowd made up largely of small business owners, she promoted the Republican tax reform law ahead of the midterm primary election.
Trump said simplifying the tax code including doubling the standard deduction was “critically important” to her father’s administration.
“Because simplicity ultimately democratizes the tax code,” she said. “It’s the people who can afford the lawyers and the teams of accountants who get the benefits of the loopholes in an overly complex and burdensome system. So simplifying it, knowing the vast majority of people will opt for the standard deduction is very important and was a priority for the administration.”
Trump's stop in Rocky River was the administration's most recent visit to campaign for tax reform, after Vice President Mike Pence's speech in Cleveland in March and President Trump's rally in Cincinnati in Febrary.
In addition to tax cuts, Trump said her father’s administration is working to expand apprenticeships and skills training in high school.
“These are all priorities for us as we think about helping economies like that in Ohio think about how they can ensure that workforce and lack thereof doesn’t stymie their ability to grow,” Trump said.
At the event, Trump was joined by U.S. Treasurer Jovita Carranza, Republican Sen. Rob Portman, and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, who’s seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown this fall. The Republican speakers also fielded questions submitted in advance from the audience as part of the town hall-style event.
In 2016, Rocky River chose Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump 53 percent to 42, though the town went for Mitt Romney over Barack Obama in 2012 by 51 to 48.
Trump ended the event with an anecdote about her inquisitive son when he learned her travel plans early this morning.
“’Rocky River?’ He’s like, ‘Do they have good fly fishing there?’” Trump said, “We had this whole 4:45, 5:00 in the morning conversation about, ‘Can you skip rocks in Rocky River?’ ‘How rocky is the river?’”
She said next time, she’s bringing him to Rocky River.
