Two days before Ivanka Trump was asked to cooperate with the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the polarizing daughter of ex-President Trump shared photos of herself helping with a food give-away in upstate New York and revealing a surprising new collaborator — Hamdi Ulukaya.
Ulukaya, the founder and CEO of the Chobani yogurt brand, has since been accused by critics of Ivanka Trump of either allowing himself to be used or of enabling her “photo-op” efforts to rehabilitate her image, which was damaged by her work in her father’s administration.
Thanks to our incredible partners + volunteers who helped feed families across Idaho & NY fresh, locally-sourced produce & dairy this holiday season.
✔️1.1 M pounds of dairy🥛+ produce 🍎 delivered
✔️1.3 M meals served
✔️52,000+ food boxes distributed
✔️100% privately funded pic.twitter.com/mt6RI8JhHm— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) January 18, 2022
These critics also wonder how Ulukaya knows Ivanka Trump or why he’d publicly associate with her, given his own sterling reputation as a socially responsible business leader and humanitarian who advocates that business leaders be ethical, accountable and care about their communities.
Moreover, the self-made billionaire is a Turkish immigrant whose company has proudly employed resettled refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, and other countries to work in its factories in upstate New York and Idaho. His pro-immigration stance famously made him and Chobani targets for racist attacks and death threats from alt-right supporters of Ivanka Trump’s father, as the New York Times, Salon, the Times Union and other outlets reported.
Mobilized by the anti-immigration rhetoric that propelled Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, calls to “#BoycottChobani” erupted on right-leaning Twitter and Facebook accounts. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones falsely accused Chobani of “importing migrant rapists,” while Breitbart, co-founded by Trump’s White House counselor Steve Bannon, suggested that the company was fueling a “Muslim refugee crisis,” the Times Union added.
Ulukaya filed a lawsuit against Jones for his “defamatory” reports and continued his pro-immigrant humanitarian work. In 2017, he spoke out against newly elected President Trump’s Muslim travel ban, according to Money.CNN.com, saying in an internal memo to Chobani employees: “This is very personal for me.”
More than five years later, some Chobani customers said on social media that they might stop buying the company’s yogurt, creamers and other products because of Ulukaya’s apparent collaboration with Ivanka Trump. To them, such a partnership runs counter to all Ulukaya stands for.
Media representatives for Chobani did not respond to questions about whether Ulukaya and Ivanka Trump are friends, how they know each other and whether they are indeed collaborating on any projects, including on programs to distribute food to needy families.
Ivanka Trump on Tuesday publicized their collaboration with posts on Instagram and Twitter, marking her return to social media after an eight-month absence. She also shared photos on Instagram Story that appeared to show Ulukaya posing with her.
The former senior White House adviser gave an interview to the New York Post, in which she said that she and “Hamdi” decided to partner on the food drive after “a discussion” over lunch one day. Ivanka Trump said that they both lamented rising food costs over the holidays because of inflation.
“The need is very real and certainly no one program is going to fulfill it but every little bit we can do helps and Hamdi and I were both really happy to give back a little bit during the holidays,” she said.
The photos Ivanka Trump shared are reminiscent of those she posed for when she helped the Trump administration launch the $6 billion Farmers to Families Food Box program in May 2020 to provide fresh produce to families affected by the pandemic.
Pro Publica reported that President Joe Biden discontinued the program in May 2021. A congressional report, released in October, found that the program, which was run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was mismanaged and used by the Trump administration for political gain.
Vanity Fair writer Bess Levin was among those who called Ivanka Trump’s photos in Rochester self-serving and a clear case of her trying to rehabilitate her image by “pretending to be a good person.”
Fueling the controversy was news later Tuesday when New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a damning motion in her ongoing civil investigation into Trump’s business practices at the Trump Organization, outlining alleged fraud. The investigation also is looking into the practices of the company’s vice presidents, Ivanka Trump and her brothers, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
“Thus far in our investigation, we have uncovered significant evidence that suggests Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization falsely and fraudulently valued multiple assets and misrepresented those values to financial institutions for economic benefit,” James said in a statement.
According to the motion, the Trump Organization and its executives “used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.”
More trouble for Ivanka Trump came on Thursday, when the House committee investigating the Capitol attack released an 11-page letter, asking her to voluntarily tell what she knows about her father’s efforts to impede the Jan. 6 count of certified electoral votes at the U.S. Capitol.
Breaking News: Ivanka Trump was asked by the Jan. 6 House committee to cooperate with its investigation into the Capitol riot. https://t.co/cihpeuS1Vv pic.twitter.com/UwJ3JzZm8a
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 20, 2022
The letter also details conversations Ivanka Trump allegedly overheard about Trump’s efforts to enlist former Vice President Mike Pence in this plan, as well as her reported attempts to get her father to respond to the rioting by his supporters.
For people who admire Ulukaya, they let him know how they felt about Ivanka Trump and a tweet he posted Monday, urging people to “reflect and act” on Martin Luther King Jr.’s teachings on love and service to others.
We would all be better to reflect and act on Martin Luther King Jr.'s teachings not just today, but every day. Lead with love, serve others and fight for what is right. That is how we move his legacy forward. #MLKDay https://t.co/ChvQEdn3Yn
— Hamdi Ulukaya (@hamdiulukaya) January 17, 2022
“You can’t post about MLK the day after you throw down with the daughter of an avowed racist. You just can’t,” one person wrote.
“How does this message synch with teaming up with a senior member of an openly racist and Islamophobic administration (looking to launder her image)?” said another.
“I’ve been a great advocate of your work and your brand Chobani since you went into business. After seeing you partnering with traitor trash Ivanka Trump, I am now boycotting your brand and I’ll be far from the only one. The quart sitting in my fridge will be the last I buy,” wrote another.
“Never, ever again will our family buy any of your products,” wrote another. “Allowing these corrupt people to exploit your reputable brand for personal gain is unconscionable.”
Amid the outrage, others wondered if Ivanka Trump and Ulukaya had ever crossed paths before or how they became friendly. So far, that’s not immediately clear.
Ivanka Trump met up with Ulukaya in Twin Falls, Idaho in late December where she paid a visit to his Chobani plant, KLIX radio reported. The two together visited a food give-away at the Magic Valley Mall, “where for several weeks, volunteers were giving away boxes of perishable items. Including yogurt,” KLIX radio reported.
Ulukaya has become active in addressing food insecurity, including on college campuses, and regularly highlights Chobani’s donations to people in need domestically and globally. In her Instagram Story, Ivanka said that she and the CEO had partnered with two organizations in New York and Idaho, Produce Alliance and CityServe.
Produce Alliance is a fresh-produce distribution service, while CityServe runs a collaborative network designed to help local churches create greater impact in their communities “in the name of Jesus.” In Rochester, New York and Twin Falls, Idaho, CityServe’s network of churches distributes Farmers Feeding Families boxes to people who have unmet food needs.
As for the Farmers to Families Food Box program Ivanka Trump was involved as a White House senior adviser, the congressional report specifically found that “the Trump Administration commandeered the program to employ it as a tool of then-President Trump’s re-election campaign.” Pro Publica reported that on the first day of the Republican National Convention in August 2020, Trump and his daughter headlined a nearby event to announce an additional $1 billion for the food box program.
Then-Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue also spoke at the event and encouraged attendees to re-elect the president, ProPublica reported. Emails mentioned in the report also show that Ivanka Trump worked to ensure that every box delivered to families would contain a signed letter from Trump, taking credit for feeding hungry families.
