As a tumultuous 2023 drew to a close, former first daughter Ivanka Trump found some words of wisdom to share with her followers on social media who might be feeling a little hopelessness about what’s coming in the new year.
Specifically, she quotes beloved children’s television host and Presbyterian minister Fred McFeely Rogers, better known simply as Mr. Rogers from the long-running PBS program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
“As we approach the new year, let’s carry the timeless wisdom of Mr Rogers with us,” Trump wrote in a post to X Thursday afternoon, just a few days before New Year’s Eve.
“In these challenging times, always look for the helpers. Their presence is a beacon of hope and humanity. Their courage and kindness light the way forward.
“Wishing you all joy, love and hope,” she concluded her post.
As we approach the new year, let’s carry the timeless wisdom of Mr Rogers with us:
In these challenging times, always look for the helpers. Their presence is a beacon of hope and humanity. Their courage and kindness light the way forward.
Wishing you all joy, love and hope… pic.twitter.com/fuNYA5vuRZ
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) December 28, 2023
Rogers himself was apparently quoting his own mother when he advised people
“You know, my mother used to say, a long time ago, whenever there would be any [real] catastrophe that would be in the movies or on the air, she would say: ‘Always look for the helpers. There will always be helpers, you know, just on the sidelines,'” Rogers said in video Trump shared with her post.
“That’s why I think if news programs could make a conscious effort of showing rescue teams, of showing who — anybody who is coming into a place where there is a tragedy — to be sure that they include that,” he added (advice that has largely been ignored, I will add, though probably unnecessarily).
“Because if you look for the helpers, you’ll know that there’s hope,” he concluded.
Who, specifically, Trump was suggesting might benefit from this advice, or what issues might be problematic for them, was left unsaid. But a couple of assumptions seem reasonable.
First off, she probably wasn’t referring to her father, though fans of the former president would probably like to think she was.
While former President Donald Trump is knee-deep in the Republican presidential primary, his daughter told NBC News over a year ago that she did “not plan to be involved in politics” during this election cycle.
“I love my father very much. This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics,” she said told the outlet.
“While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena, I am grateful to have had the honor of serving the American people and I will always be proud of many of our Administration’s accomplishments,” she added.
As The Western Journal has previously reported, it’s likely that the sudden, unexpected death of her mother a few months earlier contributed to that decision.
However, most of her recent posts to X do provide a clue as to what may have been on Trump’s mind when she thought of Rogers, as they centered on a recent trip to Israel with her husband, Jared Kushner, who is Jewish.
Clearly, the turmoil faced daily by millions of Israeli citizens — not to mention residents of Gaza and the entire Middle East — far surpasses anything most of us in the U.S. are regularly experience.
And her posts were filled with images of helpers — military officials and members of the Israeli Defense Forces who were apparently assigned to guard the VIPs during their visit to the Jewish homeland.
Which, in turn, reminded me of other words of wisdom — older and even wiser than those of Mr. Rogers, though I imagine he would also have approved of them, coming as they do from King David in the Psalms:
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you!
Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers!”
For my brothers and companions’ sake
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.
After all, the man told us to look for the helpers, and David also wrote there is an ultimate helper: God Himself.
Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord is the upholder of my life.
And it’s a good thing, too. Because 2024 is certain to bring more challenges — more sin and its consequences in all their various forms — than any man could ever deal with.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
