President Trump defended his daughter Ivanka Trump after she was ridiculed for filling in for him at a G-20 summit meeting in Hamburg, Germany. In her defense the president invoked both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of his former opponent, Hillary Clinton.
“When I left Conference Room for short meetings with Japan and other countries, I asked Ivanka to hold seat. Very standard. Angela M agrees!” Trump tweeted Monday.
“If Chelsea Clinton were asked to hold the seat for her mother, as her mother gave our country away, the Fake News would say CHELSEA FOR PRES!” he added.
Shortly thereafter, Chelsea responded, also on Twitter.
“Good morning Mr. President. It would never have occurred to my mother or my father to ask me. Were you giving our country away? Hoping not.”
During the G-20 summit session Saturday, the president left to attend other meetings, at which point Ivanka assumed his seat between Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Theresa May. A photo of the erstwhile handbag designer turned assistant to the president sandwiched between world leaders promptly provoked outrage.
Merkel explained Ivanka’s presence at the meeting, telling reporters afterward, “The delegations themselves decide, should the president not be present for a meeting, who will then take over and sit in the chair.”
“Ivanka Trump was part and parcel of the American delegation, so that is something that other delegations also do. It’s very well known that she works at the White House and is also engaged in certain initiatives.”
Ivanka’s brother Donald Trump Jr., who is not officially part of the administration and is currently embroiled in a controversy of his own, also backed his sister’s stepping in for the president, calling her “VERY smart & eloquent” and later adding, “If the left is so ‘outraged’ about Ivanka sitting in for a few minutes, maybe they’d be happier if I sub in for a while???”
