It is a weird time to be a Trump, but arguably even weirder to be an "observer" of one. For years, the narrative was that Ivanka Trump was the "rational" wing of the West Wing. Then she vanished into the Florida sun. Now, as 2026 kicks into gear, everyone is asking the same thing: Is she actually done with politics, or is this just the world's longest rebranding session?
If you've been looking for Ivanka Trump news today, you've probably noticed a massive shift in her vibe. The power suits are mostly gone. The G20 summits? Replaced by "Planet Harvest" summits.
Honestly, the most interesting thing about her right now isn't what she’s saying on a debate stage—because she isn't on one—but what she’s doing with a bunch of surplus tomatoes.
The Pivot to Planet Harvest and "Food as Medicine"
While the rest of the Trump family is deeply enmeshed in the current administration’s return to power, Ivanka has been playing a very different game. She’s gone "all in" on a venture called Planet Harvest. It’s a "profit-for-purpose" company she co-founded back in 2023 with Melissa Ackerman. Basically, they try to fix the broken plumbing of the American food supply chain.
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Think about it this way: Farmers often have huge piles of perfectly good produce they can't sell because of minor "imperfections" or logistics hiccups. At the same time, millions of Americans are struggling with food insecurity. Planet Harvest tries to bridge that gap by redirecting that surplus to grocers, food banks, and something they call "Food-as-Medicine" boxes.
It’s a clever move. It aligns her with some surprisingly non-MAGA figures, like Arianna Huffington, who interviewed Ivanka at the Heartland Summit in Bentonville recently. During that talk, Ivanka was leaning hard into the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) rhetoric—the kind of stuff Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been championing. She’s talking about chronic disease, synthetic dyes, and the idea that food can literally heal our bodies.
But there’s a catch. Or a "glaring problem," as some critics like Arwa Mahdawi point out. While Ivanka is out here trying to innovate the private sector's approach to food waste, the current administration’s budget cuts are simultaneously hacking away at federal food programs that do the exact same thing. It’s a weird contradiction. Does she lobby her dad to save the USDA programs? Not publicly. She just builds her own version in the private sector.
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Why She’s Staying Out of the White House
You’ve probably heard her say it a dozen times: "I stay out of politics completely."
In a recent appearance on the "Him & Her Show" podcast, she got pretty candid about why she didn't take a senior advisor role this time around. She basically said the "price" was too high for her kids. She’s got three of them—Arabella, Joseph, and Theodore—and she’s clearly prioritising their privacy over another four years of being the most scrutinized woman in D.C.
2026 for Ivanka seems to be about "billionaire things" in Florida and high-end real estate ventures. She and Jared Kushner have been working on a massive $1.4 billion redevelopment of Sazan Island in Albania. Locals are already calling it "Trump Island." It’s going to be a luxury resort, once they finish clearing out the old unexploded ordnance from the area. Talk about a metaphor for a political career.
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The Family Tension: When Things Get "Disgraceful"
Not everything is sunshine and Albanian resorts, though. Earlier this month, some headlines popped up that made people do a double-take. Reports suggested Ivanka was actually quite sharp in her criticism of her father’s parental choices regarding her younger brother, Barron.
The story goes that she wasn't happy about some of the public associations Barron was being pushed into. There were allegedly comments where she called the situation "disgraceful." It highlights a rift that we don't see in the official campaign press releases. It’s a reminder that while the Trump family often looks like a monolithic political unit, the internal dynamics are a lot more human and a lot messier.
What to Watch for Next
If you want to keep up with what's actually happening, don't just look at the news—look at the lifestyle. Ivanka’s social media has shifted to a "wellness influencer" aesthetic. She recently shared her 2026 goals during a New Year's trend, talking about "forward motion fueled by intention" and "staying soft."
It’s a far cry from "Make America Great Again," but in a way, it’s more effective for her long-term brand. She’s distancing herself from the "negative business" of politics (her words) while staying relevant through food and health—two things everyone cares about.
Actionable Takeaways for the Curious:
- Watch the MAHA overlap: Look for Ivanka to partner more with health-focused figures who are currently in favor with the administration. Her "Food as Medicine" angle is her ticket to being politically relevant without being a "politician."
- Follow the Real Estate: The Albania project is a huge indicator of where the Kushner-Trump wealth is moving. If that resort succeeds, it sets a new blueprint for their post-White House legacy.
- Monitor the Kids’ Public Roles: As Kai Trump and Barron Trump start to take more of the spotlight, watch how Ivanka reacts. Her desire for her own kids’ privacy might be the very thing that keeps her from ever returning to a formal government role.
Ivanka is effectively building a "parallel" career. She's not the political advisor anymore; she's the "sustainable entrepreneur." Whether that's a genuine shift or a tactical retreat, it’s working. She’s managed to stay in the headlines without being the target of the daily political firestorm. For a Trump in 2026, that might be the ultimate success.