Ivanka Trump grew indignant with a reporter who asked her whether she believed the stories of women who have accused her father, the president, of sexual misconduct, telling him it was an “inappropriate question to ask a daughter”.

“I think it’s a pretty inappropriate question to ask a daughter if she believes the accusers of her father when he’s affirmatively stated that there’s no truth to it,” Trump, a senior White House adviser, told NBC News reporter Peter Alexander, who was interviewing the first daughter as she concluded her envoy duties at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

“I believe my father,” she said. “I know my father. So I think I have that right as a daughter to believe my father.”

At least 20 women have come forward to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct. The president and his official spokespeople have challenged the veracity of the women’s claims.

Q&A Who are the 20 women accusing Donald Trump of assault and harassment? Show Jessica Leeds Ivana Trump Jill Harth Kristen Anderson Lisa Boyne Cathy Heller Temple Taggart Mariah Billado Karena Virginia Bridget Sullivan Tasha Dixon Melinda McGillivray Jennifer Murphy Rachel Crooks Natasha Stoynoff Ninni Laaksonen Jessica Drake Samantha Holvey Summer Zervos Cassandra Searles Read the full details of the 20 accusations here

Ivanka Trump’s boundaries of what is appropriate have shifted over time. In 2006, when the family sales pitch was centered on the reality show The Apprentice, she gamely entertained much pricklier questions about her father.

In an appearance on the Howard Stern talkshow, a 24-year-old Ivanka sat laughing between her father and her brother Don as the elder Trump sheepishly nodded agreement to a suggestion by a co-host that he was a sexual predator.