The viral video of Ivanka Trump at the G20 perfectly captures the problem with nepotism
The 19-second clip is very cringeworthy. But its meaning goes beyond that.
The glaring disconnect between how President Donald Trump views his daughter’s diplomatic skills and how the rest of the world sees them came to a very public head this weekend thanks to a viral, cringeworthy of Ivanka Trump attempting to interact with world leaders at the G20 in Japan.
Ivanka has no real qualifications to serve as a diplomatic representative of the United States. She hasn’t been confirmed by the Senate for a government position. Her signature Trump Organization real estate projects were linked to alleged money laundering, and she only received a security clearance after her father reportedly overruled top aides who thought giving her one was a bad idea.
In short, it’s unfathomable Ivanka would be one of the most powerful people in the White House if nepotism wasn’t at play.
That reality, however, hasn’t stopped Ivanka from acting as though she deserves a seat at the table at events like her father’s just-completed trip to Asia for the G20 and a visit to the Demilitarized Zone for a photo op with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, where she and her husband Jared Kushner were in the room during Trump’s closed-door meeting with Kim — something that couldn’t be said for National Security Adviser John Bolton, who instead traveled to Mongolia.
But the most memorable Ivanka-related moment of the trip came courtesy of the aforementioned viral video that, notably, was originally posted to Instagram by the office of French President Emmanuel Macron in a move some think was calculated to embarrass the White House. The 19-second clip shows a gesticulating and smiling Ivanka trying to insert herself into a conversation between a group of world leaders, including Macron, departing British Prime Minister Theresa May, and Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund managing director.
Though none of the world leaders seem thrilled by her presence, Lagarde in particular looks visibly annoyed and shoots side-eye in Ivanka’s direction as she seems to say something about how “male-dominated” the defense industry is.
The video spawned a #UnwantedIvanka hashtag that featured images of the first daughter being photoshopped into a range of notable historical events.
But others weren’t as amused by Ivanka’s front-and-center presence during her father’s trip to Japan and Korea.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted in response to the video of Ivanka trying to talk with world leaders that “[i]t may be shocking to some, but being someone’s daughter actually isn’t a career qualification.”
“It hurts our diplomatic standing when the President phones it in & the world moves on,” she added. “The US needs our President working the G20. Bringing a qualified diplomat couldn’t hurt either.”
AOC’s sentiments were echoed by Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia.
“Ivanka Trump is not on the National Security Council — she is not an adviser on the issues being discussed,” he told the New York Times. “So her presence undermines the professional look of the Trump delegation, both to other countries and to national security professionals in the Trump administration.”
Trump is turning the White House into a family affair
Ivanka’s presence during her father’s trip to Asia went beyond the aforementioned viral video and being in the room for the Kim meeting. The White House’s official Twitter account posted a video of the first daughter awkwardly providing the official readout of President Trump’s trilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo; she also sat next to her father during a photo of world leaders at the G20.
These photoshops placing Ivanka Trump in the middle of major events are pretty funny, but this might be the best one yet.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) July 1, 2019
It’s a fake, right? Right?! pic.twitter.com/EMr2k1hL8l
Ivanka’s ubiquitous presence throughout her father’s Asia trip illustrated how things have changed since the ouster of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, who reportedly worked to minimize Ivanka and Kushner’s influence. CNN reports that Kelly’s successor, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, has taken a different approach by seeking to “empower” the couple. Kushner’s ever-expanding portfolio includes everything from overseeing negotiations that the White House hopes will lead to peace in the Middle East to modernizing the federal government, while Ivanka handles women’s empowerment initiatives throughout the globe and increasingly, it seems, diplomacy.
But Christopher R. Hill, a former US ambassador to South Korea who oversaw nuclear talks with North Korea at the close of the George W. Bush administration, told the Washington Post that Trump’s decision to put family members front and center has a downside.
“It looks to the rest of the world like we have a kind of a constitutional monarchy,” Hill told the Post. “It’s increasingly problematic in terms of our credibility. ... It says to our allies, to everyone we do business with, that the only people who matter are Trump and his family members.”
Trump doesn’t seem to care about backlash
President Trump, however, doesn’t seem too worried about nepotism being a bad look.
Even as the video of Ivanka’s ill-fated conversation with world leaders was being widely mocked online on Sunday, Trump called his daughter onstage to address American troops at Osan Air Base in South Korea.
"God bless America and God bless each and every one of you for being out here and for everything that you do and your sacrifice and your service."@IvankaTrump speaks to troops at Osan Air Base in South Korea. pic.twitter.com/W1liLBmQRZ
— The Hill (@thehill) July 1, 2019
The troops gave Ivanka a warm reception, which stood in contrast to the response to photos of her flanked by world leaders at the G20, and videos of her serving as an unofficial Trump administration spokesperson in Korea.
The White House responded to criticism with a statement from deputy communications director Jessica Ditto in which she says “it is sad but not shocking that the haters choose to attack Ivanka Trump, a senior advisor to the President, when she is promoting US efforts to empower women through strategic partnerships with world leaders.”
“The G20 and ROK visits were substantive and historic,” Ditto added. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership our country is more prosperous and secure.”
While Kim’s brutal dictatorship was legitimized by the American president not only going out of his way to meet with him, but heaping praise upon him as well, it’s unclear what the US got from the meeting beyond a vague assurance from Kim to resume negotiations on some sort of nuclear agreement at some point down the line. For nepotism, however, it was a big moment.
