A west Wichita salon owner had an important appointment Thursday morning: She helped Ivanka Trump get ready for her Wichita appearances.
Mary Kate Denton says she isn’t sure how Trump’s assistant found her but was happy to get the call requesting her to do Trump’s hair.
“I wasn’t really nervous about it; I felt like I was well equipped to do the appointment,” Denton says.
Denton has worked in the beauty industry since 1987. She opened her salon and spa, Mary Kate & Company, 13 years ago.
Denton met Trump at a hotel early Thursday morning. Trump was busy prepping for the day: eating breakfast, looking over notes and talking on the phone.
“I’d say the most fun moment I had was that she FaceTimed her kids and her husband while I was doing her hair," Denton says. “So I got to see all of her kids and her husband talked to her. Their 10-year anniversary is tomorrow so I kind of felt like I was a little part of her world for a minute.”
Denton says it was exciting to be involved with Trump’s visit to Wichita. She says Secret Service agents were stationed outside Trump’s hotel room and throughout the property. More security personnel arrived with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Trump and Pompeo were in Wichita for an American Workforce Policy Advisory Board round-table discussion at WSU Tech. Trump co-chairs the board. They also visited Textron Aviation.
Denton has styled beauty pageant contestants and local TV news staff but doesn’t often get a chance to do big-name celebrities.
“It was fun. I told her I really want a picture to show my parents because they were really excited that I got to meet you,” Denton says.
