White House confirms Ivanka Trump broke her own stay-at-home advice to travel to New Jersey for Passover

• The White House confirmed to Politico on Thursday that Ivanka Trump broke her own stay-at-home advice to travel to the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster for Passover.
• "Her travel was not commercial," the White House said in a statement. "She chose to spend a holidy in private with her family" in a "closed down facility considered to be a family home."
• Ivanka Trump has played a prominent role in urging Americans to work from home and stay home as much as possible as the US tries to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
• In addition to breaking her own advice, the first daughter's trip to the Bedminster golf club also violates the White House's guidance on March 16 for Americans to "work or engage in schooling from home whenever possible" and "avoid discretionary travel."
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The White House confirmed to Politico on Thursday that Ivanka Trump broke her own stay-at-home advice to travel to the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster for Passover.

"Her travel was not commercial," the White House said in a statement. "She chose to spend a holidy in private with her family" in a "closed down facility considered to be a family home."

Ivanka Trump resides in Washington, DC, with her husband, Jared Kushner, and their three children. Trump and Kushner both serve as senior advisers to President Donald Trump.

The New York Times first reported that the first daughter made the trip to Bedminster with her family on April 8 for the Jewish holiday.

Ivanka Trump has played a significant role in urging Americans to stay home as the US tries to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19.

The World Health Organization declared the virus a pandemic last month, and states across the country have ordered businesses to shut down and imposed mandatory stay-at-home orders for millions of Americans.

"In these toughest of times, America shows her spirit and strength," the first daughter tweeted on March 30. "This will end and we will emerge stronger than ever before. In the meantime, social distancing saves lives! Please do your part. We are all in this together."

She added in a video accompanying the tweet: "Those lucky enough to be in a position to stay at home, please, please do so. Each and every one of us plays a role in slowing the spread."

In addition to breaking her own advice, Trump and Kushner's trip to Bedminster also violates the White House's guidance on March 16 for Americans to "work or engage in schooling from home whenever possible" and "avoid discretionary travel."

Washington, DC, issued a stay-at-home order effective from April 1, saying that residents should leave home only for necessities and that infractions are punishable by fines or jail time.

The novel coronavirus outbreak originated in the city of Wuhan, China, but the US became the global epicenter of the crisis last month because of a significant delay in testing and the president's unwillingness to take early action to combat the spread of the disease within the US.

Trump imposed a ban on certain types of travel from China on January 31 but stalled on declaring a national emergency, mobilizing federal resources to state and local facilities, and advising Americans to engage in social distancing.

On Wednesday, the president and public health officials expressed cautious optimism that the rate of new infections in certain hotspots is slowing. Still, they urged Americans to continue social distancing and stay home whenever possible to prevent a resurgence of the disease.

Tom Porter contributed to this report.

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