Introducing her father, Ivanka Trump is a character witness

CLEVELAND — Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, and perhaps the most poised and articulate defender of his character and ideas, introduced her father as "a fighter" who will "fight for you."

"I ask you to judge my father by his results," Ivanka Trump told the rapt crowd in a speech that was equal parts familial praise and a recitation of his accomplishments. "He is colorblind and gender-neutral."

She discussed the number of female executives at her father's company, describing them as treated well even as new mothers, in an attempt to build a bridge to female voters with whom Trump's ratings are low. She also said that as a young girl, her father told her that if she was going to think at all, she should "think big."

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The speech was a sharp departure in tone from some of the earlier presentations at the convention — the first three nights were filled with thunderous oratory and chants of "lock her up!" about Hillary Clinton. But the younger Trump presented a far different approach to the convention delegates.

Ivanka Trump's influence with her father is almost unrivaled in their family. And her goal at the convention was to serve as one of his strongest character witnesses, offering a warmer portrait of one of the most famous celebrities in the world — yet someone who is known mostly superficially and most recently in a negative light through his slashing campaign.

"I think for someone so famous, in certain regards my father is not very well known, and his warmth and compassion have not been fully experienced by the American public," she said in a brief interview before her speech.

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In recent months, Ivanka Trump, 34, has operated as something of the superego of the evolving Trump campaign, gingerly influencing and promoting her father's ambitions while avoiding becoming ensnared in his controversies. Her efforts have impressed donors, Republican members of Congress, skeptics and delegates here at his nominating convention.

Donald Trump's wife, Melania, has been a reluctant co-campaigner, preferring to remain out of the spotlight and focused on the couple's young son, Barron. When Donald Trump announced his once-seemingly quixotic candidacy in June, it was Ivanka Trump who introduced her father, while Melania Trump lingered behind them.

In an interview this week with People magazine, Ivanka Trump defended her stepmother, calling her an "unbelievable mother" while offering praise for her decision to let parenting take priority over being on the campaign trail on behalf of her husband. The remarks came as Melania Trump has been dealing with accusations that passages from the convention speech she gave Monday night were plagiarized.

"I do think Ivanka has the key family role," said Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., who has worked closely with the campaign. "Melania has said she wants to take a more behind-the-scenes role," Collins said, adding that Ivanka Trump "has her father's ear. The bond between a father and daughter is just very different."

She has had an outsized influence on the campaign, particularly as her father fought to wrap up the nominating fight and then battled this week with delegate efforts to thwart his nomination. She counseled him on ways to broaden his support and nudged him toward moving into a new phase of his campaign, one less reliant on his own gut instincts, according to people briefed on those discussions.

"This is about talking to her father," said Rep. Lee Zeldin, another New York Republican. "Not a presidential candidate who will fire her."

Maggie Cordish, who was introduced to her husband by Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, said that her friend had developed a new level of comfort in dealing with her father.

"She skipped Saturdays with the girls to go to job sites in New Jersey or New York with her dad," Cordish said. "This is something that's been part of her persona. They've been working together now for over a decade."

Ivanka Trump, who has built her own business brand over many years, is an established businesswoman herself, with licensing agreements and her own clothing line.

At his rallies, her father often refers to her by her first name only, exuding pride. And during convention week in Cleveland, she has shown herself to be a trusted confidante and defender of her father, however quietly.

Moments after Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas subtly eviscerated Trump from the convention stage Wednesday night, cameras captured a visibly displeased Ivanka Trump as she stood to her father's left. She whispered into her father's ear as the crowd booed and hissed.

And Tuesday night, she beamed as she stood on the convention floor with her oldest siblings while her brother, Donald Jr., cast the delegate vote that officially made their father the Republican nominee. She was spotted, smiling, as she talked on the phone with her father soon after.

"One of the ways I judge a person is the quality of their children," said Dan Perrier, a delegate from Washington state. "Everyone should bring their best role to the table and she has with him."