Donald Trump's children are not their father - so stop bullying them

It appears that Tiffany Trump became the target of hypocritical bullies at Philipp Plein's New York Fashion Week show on Monday. During the show, Alyssa Vingan Klein, editor-in-chief of Fashionista.com, had tweeted that "no editors want to sit near Tiffany Trump. SHOCKER." Nikki Ogunnaike, senior editor at Elle, responded to the tweet saying that she herself had moved. Ogunnaike also tweeted that the show started late due to fashion designers "fleeing" to avoid sitting next to the First Daughter.

In case petulant fashion editors shunning and shaming the 23-year-old woman wasn't enough, Wall Street Journal columnist and fashion writer Christina Binkley channeled her inner mean-girl, in a "you can't sit with us" moment – tweeting photos of Tiffany and the empty seats, also declaring that nobody wants to sit next to her.

Though Binkley has attempted to backpedal following the backlash, and now claims that the seats were unoccupied for less than two minutes, her mockery was itself a form of bullying and cruelty.

The hypocrisy of this public shaming is obvious. Fashion editors, who fill their magazine pages with stories of female empowerment, shunned a woman over the actions of her father. It should not need to be said, in 2017, that a woman's worth is not dependent on the men in her life.

Tiffany, unlike some of her siblings, has even rejected attention over her father's presidency. She has stayed out of the limelight and has not advocated for his policies or taken a role in the White House. She has done absolutely nothing to warrant being cast as a social pariah.

Sadly, Tiffany is not the only Trump to face bullying from those who oppose the policies of her father, even the youngest, 10-year-old Barron Trump, has faced cruel bullying by adults.

In January, Saturday Night Live writer Katie Rich tweeted that "Barron will be this country's first homeschool [sic] shooter." She deleted the tweet and apologised but was suspended from her job.

In November, Donald Trump's long-time foe Rosie O'Donnell tweeted a video questioning whether or not the young boy has autism. She too, eventually apologised after facing backlash for her cruelty.

There has also been a campaign to boycott the Ivanka Trump line of clothing and have it pulled from stores, despite her being one of the most progressive voices to have her father's ear. Since Trump took office, Ivanka has pledged to work on behalf of women, even organising a round table on women in the workforce with her father and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Why are women bullying and punishing the person who is lobbying on behalf of their gender in the White House?

Luckily, there are still many good people out there, including outspoken Trump-critic Whoopi Goldberg, who became an unlikely ally for Tiffany after the Fashion Week incident.

"Elle magazine's senior fashion editor tweeted that she and other editors changed their seats so they weren't near the first daughter Tiffany Trump," said Goldberg on Wednesday's episode of the View. "There were also photos posted of Tiffany with empty seats next to her. You know what, Tiffany, I'm supposed to go to a couple more shows, I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm coming to sit with you."

Tiffany has since accepted her offer in a thankful tweet.

Hopefully Goldberg's kind words will inspire more to remember the basics of human decency and kindness – even when it comes to those whose fathers you oppose politically.

Cassandra Fairbanks is a DC-based writer and political commentator who has been published in a range of outlets covering the 2016 election including Sputnik News, Teen Vogue, TeleSUR, and Bipartisan Report. She is also a partner at Subverse.net.