Ivanka's 'Somewhat Unusual' G20 Move Has Internet Abuzz

First daughter took President Trump's place at table during meeting of world leaders
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 8, 2017 2:30 PM CDT
Where Ivanka Sat at G20 Sends Internet Into a Tizzy
Ivanka Trump, seen seated between Chinese President Xi Jinping and UK PM Theresa May.   (Twitter)

President Trump stood out Saturday as the only G20 leader not offering his support for the Paris climate agreement, but that wasn't the only buzzworthy happening in Hamburg with the name "Trump" attached to it. Per Bloomberg, when the president slipped away from a meeting on migration that included such world leaders as UK Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, another Trump slipped quietly into his seat. A spokesman for Ivanka Trump concedes the first daughter, who'd been sitting in the back of the room, did briefly take the place of the president (who'd gone off to some one-on-one meetings with other leaders) at the table of global bigwigs, though an official who saw the seat swapping take place says Ivanka didn't say anything during her time at the table.

A photo of Ivanka sitting between Xi and May, with Merkel a few seats down, was first posted on Twitter (and then removed) by Svetlana Lukash, who calls herself a "Russian G20 Sherpa," per CNN. Critics are upset that the unelected Ivanka stepped in for her father in a move the Washington Post calls "somewhat unusual," as heads of state in such situations are usually replaced by senior government officials. The Hill notes reaction online, with some calling the move by the "inexperienced" Ivanka "banana-republicky," others snarking the summit wasn't "Take Your Daughter to Work day," and some noting Ivanka had said just last month: "I try to stay out of politics." Per Bloomberg, though, other leaders' aides took their place when they stepped out (Ivanka is an unpaid adviser to her father), and Merkel later noted each country's delegation decides who represents them, and "Ivanka Trump was part and parcel of the American delegation." (More Ivanka Trump stories.)

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