NewTrump’s family keeps low profile in homestretch of campaign

Donald Trump’s family is farther from the national spotlight than usual as the Republican presidential nominee gets closer and closer to the biggest test of his life: Election Day.

Trump lifted his children up to the highest levels of his company and the television show that put him in millions of households across the US. But they’re playing less visible roles in his campaign as the nation focuses on its closing weeks, a surprising turn after headlining all four nights of July’s Republican National Convention.

Viewed as a crucial asset in her father’s play for millennial and female voters, Trump’s daughter Ivanka received rave reviews for her convention speech and was poised for a leading role in advocating for his candidacy. But Ivanka, who had a confrontational interview in September with Cosmopolitan.com, a popular site for young women, has been mostly limiting her appearances on the trail to smaller events.

After more than a week of silence on the remarks her father made in 2005 boasting of groping women — he denies actually committing sexual assault — Ivanka finally said flatly that the lewd remarks were wrong.

“My father’s comments were clearly inappropriate and offensive and I’m glad that he acknowledged this fact with an immediate apology to my family and the American people,” she told Fast Company in an article published Monday.

Before Monday’s round of interviews defending her husband from sexual-assault allegations from several women, Trump’s wife, Melania, had herself spent weeks avoiding the media following revelations that her speech at the convention plagiarised portions of one given by first lady Michelle Obama. She has no intention of playing a significant public role in the closing weeks of the campaign, according to a person close to the family.