Swan on a lake: Ivanka Trump’s poise at trial differs from family but playbook is the same

Despite the control shown during her testimony, Trump was following the same script as her family: deny remembering anything

When Ivanka Trump took the stand at her father's New York fraud trial on Wednesday, it appeared she was following the advice she gave to readers in her 2009 book The Trump Card: Playing to Win in Work and Life. Perception is more important than reality," Trump wrote. It is more important than if it is in fact true."

In stark contrast to her father's often angry performance on the stand just two days earlier, Ivanka Trump was calm and amiable. Her brothers, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, also visibly lost patience on the stand, speaking quickly and sternly when answering some questions and making sarcastic comments at others. The eldest Trump daughter maintained her poise throughout. She delivered her testimony like a swan gliding across a lake. But beneath the surface, she was furiously paddling.