Donald Trump Weighs in On Ivanka's Friendship with Chelsea Clinton: 'They Should Continue to Be Friends'

The election of 2016 has caused a lot of drama – but Trump says his daughter's friendship shouldn't be compromised

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Photo: Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic

Donald Trump doesn’t want the election to get in the way of his daughter Ivanka Trump‘s friendship with his political opponent Hillary Clinton‘s daughter, Chelsea Clinton.

In an interview with The New York Times‘s Maureen Dowd, Trump fired off in a lightning round questionnaire about people at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last week.

And while the election ramps up and the Clinton-verses-Trump claws come out, the Republican presidential nominee says he hopes Ivanka, 34, and Chelsea, 36, can remain friends. The two became friends through their parents, who were once on friendly terms.

“[Chelsea’s] very friendly with Ivanka,” he said. “They like each other and they should continue to be friends.”

Trump also had positive remarks for First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech at the DNC, saying, “She gave a very good speech.”

Ivanka recently spoke with PEOPLE in an expansive interview, and mentioned her unique friendship with Chelsea.

“We are [friendly],” Ivanka told PEOPLE, adding. “There’s certainly tremendous intensity around both of our lives right now … We’re both incredibly supportive of our parents, as we should be. But we also continue to have great respect for one another.”

Clinton echoed similar sentiments in an interview with PEOPLE last September.

“Friendship is always more important than politics,” the former First Daughter said. “I learned that growing up, watching my parents be friends with people across the political spectrum in Arkansas,” later adding, “She’s a great woman.”

WATCH: President Obama Passes the Torch to Hillary Clinton

Chelsea also said she’d consider a “daughter summit” in an interview with Matt Lauer for the Today show on Thursday.

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“It isn’t something that had occurred to me, but it’s certainly something I would consider,” she told Lauer. “I think it was clear last week when Ivanka introduced her add that she’s so proud of him.”

Clinton later commented on Ivanka’s relationship with her father, while also comparing the two campaigns.

“I don’t expect [Ivanka] to always have to defend her father,” she said. “I mean I think it’s clear that Mr. Trump is running his campaign and saying what he thinks is important in this election … my mother’s not engaging in divisive, bigoted rhetoric.”

And Clinton clarified that there is a distinct division among the two friends.

“And yet clearly, Ivanka and I have very different views about who we think she be our president.”

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