(Getty)
A Russian official snapped a photo of presidential daughter Ivanka Trump briefly taking her father’s seat between the leaders of China and Great Britain at the G20 Summit in Hamburg.
The official, Svetlana Lukash, then deleted the tweet, but not before it was saved and ricocheted around the Internet, sparking criticism that Ivanka Trump should not have had a seat at the G20 table, even if she was sitting there for a few moments when her father left the room to do other things.
Here’s the photo sparking the furor:
Ivanka Trump: “I try to stay out of politics.” Here, she represents the United States, sitting in for her absent father at G20 summit table.
The pic ignited criticism against Ivanka from some on the left, although Trump supporters argued it was a big ado about nothing, and Donald Trump himself later said that his daughter’s biggest problem is being related to him because of the constant criticism directed at her.
According to the White House reporter for Bloomberg, “One official watching G20 mtg said Ivanka has taken Trump’s place at table at least twice today and did not speak.”
Bloomberg reported that Ivanka sat between President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Theresa May. According to Bloomberg, “A spokesman for Ivanka Trump said she had been sitting in the back of the room and then briefly joined the main table when the president stepped out. The president of the World Bank addressed the meeting, which was about African migration and health — areas that would benefit from a facility that Ivanka Trump and the World Bank had announced shortly before the meeting.”
Donald Trump left the G20 to attend one-on-one meetings with other officials. A White House official told CBS: “Ivanka was sitting in the back and then briefly joined the main table when the president had to step out. When other leaders stepped out, their seats were also briefly filled by others.”
Here’s some of the reaction to the picture on Twitter:
@brianklaas @LanaLukash Ivanka Trump sitting in at G20 instead of her father is breathtakingly insane. She designs shoes… #G20
@tonyposnanski Ivanka Trump is totally unqualified to attend G20 meetings for the US. It’s a slap in the face to other world leaders.
I guess in all fairness Ivanka Trump is qualified to sit with world leaders since her clothing line has failed in every country.
Also at the G20, Donald Trump and his daughter spoke at an event in which the president announced the U.S. would commit $50 million toward a fun to empower women.
“I’m very proud of my daughter Ivanka. Always have been,” President Trump said. “If she weren’t my daughter, it would be so much easier for her. It might be the only bad thing she has going, if you want to know the truth.”
Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, have accompanied the president on every leg of his foreign trip, which started out in Poland.
GettyIvanka Trump (R) and her husband Jared Kushner step off Air Force One upon arrival at Chopin Airport in Warsaw, Poland.
In fall 2016, Ivanka was also criticized when she was photographed sitting in on a meeting her father had at Trump Tower with the prime minister of Japan.