Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner: the controversial presence of President Trump's daughter and son-in-law among world leaders
She is the eldest daughter of the president of the United States, his adviser and now, also the protagonist of a fever of memes and questions.
Ivanka Trump has been in the eye of a new storm since the weekend since the French government released a video that the US media have not stopped describing as an "uncomfortable moment."
In the image, Ivanka Trump appears talking with the rulers of Canada, France and the United Kingdom, Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron and Theresa May, as well as the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde.
The video, recorded during the G20 summit in Osaka and lasting a few seconds, does not allow us to appreciate what they are talking about or the context in which the talk is given. And it's also unclear why Ivanka Trump is there.
The mere fact that the daughter and adviser of the president of the United States talks with four of the heavyweights of world politics caught the attention of many.
The video went viral, as did the questions and memes with the hashtag #UnwantedIvanka (Ivanka not welcome).
"Ivanka's prominent role in the G20 meeting, where she sat next to the president during photo sessions and mingled with world leaders, is unprecedented," Anthony Zurcher, US correspondent for the BBC.
"It may be shocking to some, but being someone's daughter is not really a professional qualification. It hurts our diplomatic position that Trump has this attitude," wrote New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The recording was just the culmination of a series of moments in which Ivanka Trump had a conspicuously visible role in the meeting between the world's largest economies.
She participated with her father in several meetings and meetings behind closed doors of the G20 and stayed for a photo with world leaders in which she was the only one who was not head of state or government.
When the US president met in a surprise way with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, she was also there: she participated in the private conversation between the two, even crossed to North Korea and described the visit as "surreal".
The White House, for its part, rejected the questions and regretted that what it considers the true role of Ivanka Trump at the summit is not taken into account.
"It is sad, but not surprising, that haters choose to attack Ivanka Trump ... when she promotes America's efforts to empower women through strategic partnerships with world leaders," commented Jessica Ditto, Deputy Director of White House Communications.
The role of Trump's daughter during the summit, however, has once again brought up her role in her father's government, a point she has shared in the last two years with her partner, also a White House adviser , Jared Kushner.
A controversial couple
A 1967 anti-nepotism law prohibits the family of the president of the United States from holding federal office.
But in a controversial decision, shortly after assuming the presidency, Trump appointed his daughter and son-in-law as advisers to the White House, two positions for which, he said, neither would receive any salary, and therefore, they could not be considered official positions within your government.
However, he assigned each of them an office in the most important building in Washington.
"Throughout his professional career, Donald Trump has maintained a tight circle of trusted allies around him, the closest of which has always been his children," Zurcher explains.
In fact, both Ivanka Trump and Kushner had had a leading role in the Trump campaign and once the president arrived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the role of both was not less.
"Ivanka's official role is 'advisor to the president,' a title she shares with her husband, but they are clearly much more than that," Zurcher notes.
In the first months of the government, while Melania Trump remained in New York - waiting for her son Barron to finish the school year - Ivanka Trump assumed the functions of first lady and very soon the president granted her the informal title of "first daughter".
De Kushner, on the other hand, it was said that she would deal with issues - without it being yet very clear which ones - ranging from trade issues to issues related to Israel and peace in the Middle East, passing through agreements between the government and the private sector .
An ascending presence
Critics of the Trump administration assure that the positions of his family members were only the beginning of an ascending political career, which has not been immune to controversies and the questioning of its legitimacy.
A few months after her father arrived at the White House, Ivanka Trump, previously known only for having a fashion company named after her, was meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, or with the leaders of Facebook, Apple. , Google and other Silicon Valley giants.
And at the first G20 summit that Donald Trump attended in 2017 in Hamburg, he led a discussion on health and migration in Africa, joined his father in bilateral talks and meetings, and began to gain attention for making himself more visible than anyone else. another member of the government.
Since then, she has been seen at most of Trump's official visits or high-level meetings, as well as international events that she would traditionally occupy as the first lady.
Earlier this year, she launched a $ 50 million initiative to promote women's empowerment and, since last month, began a campaign to publicize the White House's efforts to underpin workforce development in the United States. country.
"Since Trump's inauguration, Ivanka has received credit, anonymously, for encouraging the president to launch retaliatory attacks against Syria for the use of chemical weapons and for cutting back on his policy of separating migrant families at the border from United States and Mexico, "says Zurcher.
"His concern of her about global warming, however, has not deterred the president from cutting environmental regulations and withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement," she adds.
Her role in government has been so visible that she speculated about her possible nomination as US ambassador to the United Nations or even as head of the World Bank.
"Everyone wants Ivanka Trump to be the new ambassador to the United Nations. It would be amazing, but I can already hear the chants of nepotism!" Trump wrote on Twitter.
The Kushner case
Although the role of Ivanka's husband has been less discussed, it has also raised suspicions and questions among critics of the current US government since the very beginning of Trump's term.
In fact, Kushner was the only official still in the White House who attended the controversial meeting with a Russian group at Trump Tower in June 2016, which was one of the elements that led to think about a possible collusion of the Trump's campaign with the Kremlin.
Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation found no evidence of the latter, but the event has since shown Kushner's central role in the Trump family.
Although she has been less visible than Ivanka, her duties have ranged from taking charge of the technological upgrade of the White House to proposing the US plan for conflicts in the Middle East, the so-called Millennium Plan that was presented last week without the presence of the Palestinians.
Like his wife, Kushner has also been noted in several top-level international meetings and, according to various sources, has even assumed roles of high government officials and has been behind some dismissals, such as that of the also presidential adviser Stephen Bannon.
Last week, the publication of an appearance before Congress by former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, described the extent of Kushner's power in the United States government.
In one of the most surprising moments of his testimony, Tillerson recounted that he realized that his Mexican counterpart at the time, Luis Videgaray, was in Washington when he walked into a restaurant and found him having dinner with Kushner.
The former secretary of state said that he came to greet them as he saw the colors run from the Mexican's face (who was apparently negotiating the new free trade agreement with Trump's son-in-law).
"I just wanted to say hi. I don't want to interrupt you. Call me next time you come to town," Tillerson says he told Videgaray.
On another occasion, according to Tillerson, neither he nor James Mattis - then Defense Secretary - were aware that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates planned to block their regional rival, Qatar.
However, Kushner and Bannon had been informed about it at a secret dinner.
Indeed, Trump's son-in-law's relationship with Saudi Arabia and his relationship with Prince Mohamed bin Salman has also been controversial.
Not counting the accusations that he has used WhatsApp to deal with official business or the allegations that he has also taken advantage of his position to promote personal business in some countries, mainly in Saudi Arabia (accusations that the White House denies).
But in recent times, one of the most controversial facts about the real power of Kushner and Ivanka Trump in the White House was that both recognized having authorization to access classified information or restricted areas.
According to Zurcher, these are two central figures of the Trump administration who are less and less in the shadows and can have an influence on the decisions made by the president.
"The president may not always do what they recommend, but he always seems to listen to them. This kind of informal power goes beyond what most presidential advisers wield," he says.
