This is a rush transcript from “Hannity,” April 26, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
TUCKER CARLSON, GUEST HOST: Having been raised by Donald Trump, my guest knows a thing or two about success. She also sat beside him in the boardroom on NBC’s show, “The Apprentice” and made some decisions about who gets fired. Here’s the author of The New York Times best seller, “Trump Card: Playing to Win in Work and Life.” It was just released in paperback. She is Ivanka Trump.
Ivanka, thanks for coming on.
IVANKA TRUMP, AUTHOR, “TRUMP CARD”: Thank you. It’s my pleasure.
CARLSON: So give me some advice. Let me just say, you start out by conceding that you were born in fortunate circumstances. But you haven’t screwed it up, unlike a lot of people.
TRUMP: Knock on wood. No, hopefully not screwed it up. I think that, you know, it’s important to be forthright with the reader. And obviously, I’ve had a life of great privilege, and I’ve had tremendous opportunities.
I think, with that said, in order to, you know, be where I am today and on a career path, in the way that I am today, I needed to leverage those opportunities to my advantage. And I see a lot of young people who don’t do that and don’t use tools at their disposal; don’t use the networks that are available to them and resources that are available to them.
So this book was an opportunity for me to speak with people of my generation, sometimes my friends. You know, they’ll call when they’re going on interviews, and they’ll ask me very basic advice about what I looked for as a young person who is hiring young people? And also what was my experience prior to working at the Trump organization, when I was a young person being hired by adults.
So I think I’ve had an interesting and unique experience, seeing it from both vantage points.
CARLSON: A lot of advice struck me as kind of refreshingly retro. Like, get up early, show up at work early, go to work on Sundays. Basically, don’t be lazy is the theme that runs through the book.
TRUMP: I think a piping hot economy was the downfall of some of the social skills that one would think would be — would be normal, such as arriving at an interview on time, slash, you know, early.
CARLSON: Sober.
TRUMP: Sober is always good.
But also little things: being prepared. You know, one of the problems I see today with all the young people that come into my office, is that they know there is something about the idea of working for Trump they love. They haven’t identified what it is that they want to do within the organization.
So, so many people are casting their net. And they’re casting it far and wide, and they’re looking for any opportunity because the economy is so tough. But then, when they do have the interview, they’re not using that time well. And they’re not saying, “These are the skills I have. These are the skills that will be applicable to your organization, and this is where I want to go in the future.”
CARLSON: When you’re assessing people on the “Apprentice,” or people are coming to your office, what’s the single most annoying quality you’ve got across? What’s the thing that you would never hire someone who had this thing?
TRUMP: I think it’s frustrating when you ask people if they have any questions, and they don’t. I think that, if you have a few minutes of somebody’s time and you’re serious about a position, you should always have questions on what the opportunity will be.
Obviously, you have to limit the questions you ask and be mindful of that person’s time. But I always think it’s a bit odd when somebody can’t, you know, on the spot think of something that’s a reaction to, you know, the discussion you’ve just had.
CARLSON: Did you ever think about changing your name? Was it tough?
TRUMP: I think that, for me personally, I like to use my married name now, Kushner, in personal settings. But, you know, I’ve developed brand identity of my own with my jewelry store that’s called Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry, so I think it would be a little hard—
CARLSON: Hard to get away from that?
TRUMP: — to change the signage overnight. But — but you know, Trump is a great brand, and I am part of the expansion of it. So I’m excited to (INAUDIBLE) my last name.
CARLSON: So, since you’re an entrepreneur and rooted in the market, the values of the marketplace, how do you think this president is doing?
TRUMP: Well, I’m fearful for my children and their children and the just massive amounts of debt that’s piling up and that somebody will have to reconcile. So I’m very frightened by that.
I think that there are some things that are being done well. But I was not a fan of how the health care reform process was handled. And I hope that that’s not an example of how reform is going to be handled going forward. I’m not overly supportive.
CARLSON: So — here’s what I don’t get. He had the support of an awful lot of rich people. I think the majority of people making over 200 grand a year.
TRUMP: He’s alienated a lot of the initial supporters, yes.
CARLSON: But he’s also doing things that he said he was going to do. So all those folks on Wall Street, money people who sent contributions to Obama and bundled for him, voted for him, what were they thinking?
TRUMP: It’s a good question. I think he’s taken a less moderate approach than most people thought. And I think it’s not uncommon for you to hear things on the campaign trail and not necessarily think they’ll be executed during the great recessions of the last 100 years.
So, you know, I think the timing of some of these initiatives — I mean, at the end of the day, the American people want to hear about jobs. They want to hear how they can get their job back and how their child graduated from university will get their first job. And that has to be the priority.
I think the administration is starting to realize that, and their tone is changing. But I — you know, I just take issue with the constant rhetoric that’s anti-business and anti-the employers that are creating the jobs that are driving our economy.
CARLSON: Do your people say that? Do you have friends, affluent friends who supported Obama who are now looking back in horror at what they did?
TRUMP: I feel like there’s a lot of fanning of flames and, you know, appealing to the lowest common denominator in jumping on this populist, you know, anti-Wall Street bandwagon. And I just don’t think it’s productive. I don’t think it’s —
CARLSON: On the part of the administration?
TRUMP: On the part of the administration. Yes. And on the people who sort of opine and agree.
CARLSON: When Wall Street is one of the main reasons Obama became president in the first place.
TRUMP: Hundred percent. And look, obviously, reforms need to take place. There were certain — there were — it’s not that Wall Street isn’t culpable. I mean, there obviously is that element. But I just don’t think it’s productive to engage in the dialogue of name-throwing.
CARLSON: Yes, if only it there were dialogue and not just a monologue.
Ivanka Trump, thanks a lot for joining us.
TRUMP: Thank you. It was a pleasure.
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