Why Ivanka Trump could be the first female POTUS

With Sen. Elizabeth Warren suspending her presidential campaign, it looks like the hope of having a female president next term just got squashed. But an Op-Ed published on CNN is saying that American voters just might witness the first female President of the United State within their lifetime and that it likely will be Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of the current POTUS Donald Trump.

“Thanks to entrenched sexist attitudes, biased media coverage, and online harassment -- to name just a few of hurdles-- it's harder for women to run for office and win,” Allison Jane Smith wrote on her Op-Ed piece published on CNN. Smith supports this claim by citing the UN Development Programme's gender social norm index that found more than half of the world’s population believes men to be better political leaders.

Thus, one way for women to step up to the top of the political ladder is to follow the steps of male relatives who are into politics. “Argentina, Myanmar, and Thailand are among the countries where women have followed in the footsteps of a male relative to become head of state,” Smith wrote.

For example, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was the nation's first lady before becoming Argentina’s president. Yingluck Shinawatra is also the sister of a former prime minister before becoming one herself. Thus, Having President Donald Trump as her father could be a plus for Ivanka Trump should she decide to continue the Trump dynasty.

“The fact that President Donald Trump is limited to two terms may even amplify the dynasty effect and increase Ivanka Trump's chances at a successful political career, should she seek one,” Smith wrote. Trump supporters might want to see him extend his influence beyond the eight years he is allowed in office via his daughter.

This is what is happening in the Philippines where a number of women ran for municipal office when term limits were introduced more than three decades ago. “In dynastic contexts, term limits may, perhaps inadvertently, increase female representation but restrict this higher access to office to dynastic women,” the authors studying the trend wrote.

Interestingly, even President Donald Trump himself seems to be hinting that Ivanka might be gunning for the presidency in the future. “If she ever wanted to run for president, I think she'd be very, very hard to beat,” Trump said.