The "Coffee with Ivanka" series hosted by the daughter of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump started in Philadelphia and had two events in Cumberland County before ending at the Best Western at Routes 22 and 512 in Hanover Township, Northampton County.
A standing crowd of about 300 people greeted Ivanka Trump as folks cheered and applauded. It was the first visit by anyone in the Trump family during this campaign season.
America needs someone who is not afraid to think big, she said.
"But with that, we need somebody with a track record of execution," she said. "So we need a dreamer. We need a do-er. We need both.
"We need someone who is tenacious, persistent. My father will outwork anyone."
Dressed in a black skirt and black blouse, she discussed her father's proposed reforms to "Make America Great Again." She also took a handful of questions.
One of the most crucial, Ivanka Trump said, is her father's affordable child care plan, noting the cost of child care has become one of the biggest challenges facing American parents.
If elected, Donald Trump has vowed to rewrite the tax code to allow working parents to deduct from their income taxes child care expenses for up to four children and elderly dependents, she said.
The other components of the plan would include allowing parents to enroll in tax-free dependent care savings accounts for their children or elderly relatives, and provide low-income households an expanded earned income tax credit.
"I'm so passionate about it; it's such an important issue," said Ivanka Trump, who is a mother of three. "I speak to women all across the country who are struggling ... It's really a family issue."
Trump said the cost of child care exceeds the cost of housing for some families.
"We have skyrocketing costs of care," she said. "One of the reasons my father really understood this issue so well is he is an employer of tens of thousands of people. He has a dynamic workforce ... he recognizes the complexities of managing family and work."
'Safety net'
Sunday's swing through Pennsylvania came two days before the election. Neither Donald Trump nor Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have visited the Lehigh Valley during this campaign season. Both vice presidential candidates, however, have made stops.
Ivanka Trump said her father proposes families saving money through the "Dependent Care Savings Account" plan. The accounts are aimed at families setting aside extra money to foster their children's development and offset elder care for their parents or adult dependents.
The new accounts would be available to everyone and allow both tax-deductible contributions and tax-free appreciation year to year, she said, as opposed to current law "Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts," which are available only if offered by an employer.
Ivanka Trump said studies have shown 47 percent of American households can come up with $400 a month without borrowing or selling something.
"So savings are not there," she said. "It's so critical that you have that safety net."
Under another Trump plan, pregnant women would receive six weeks of paid maternity leave. However, Ivanka Trump said the plan would be self-funded. It is geared toward amending existing unemployment insurance that companies are required to carry.
Wage inequality
Ivanka Trump also said wage inequality must change in the near future. Women, she said, need to be higher on the corporate ladder and members of important boards.
In 2014, single women without children earned 94 cents on a man's dollar while married mothers made 81 cents on a man's dollar, she said.
"I believe my father will take giant leaps to change that," she said. "He's somebody who walks the walk."
When asked by a Lehigh Valley physician why her father should become the next president of the United States, Ivanka Trump said the majority of America feels the country is going in the wrong direction.
