In the early days of Donald Trump’s presidency, he once allowed his daughter Ivanka to take his seat at the G20 Summit, to the surprise and outrage of Americans who don’t feel that an inexperienced clothing designer had any business representing the country on the world stage. If the current president had his way, that nepotism would have been much worse.
In an interview with The Atlantic, Trump praised his eldest daughter’s skills, which had resulted in a book deal and a clothing company whose production included sweatshops in Third World countries. In Trump’s mind, however, those skills qualified her to run an institution as vital to the world’s health as the World Bank.
‘She’s a natural diplomat. She would’ve been great at the United Nations, as an example…If I did, they’d say nepotism, when it would’ve had nothing to do with nepotism. But she would’ve been incredible. I even thought of Ivanka for the World Bank … She would’ve been great at that because she’s very good with numbers.’
‘She went into the whole helping-people-with-jobs, and I wasn’t sure that was going to be the best use of her time, but I didn’t know how successful she’d be…She’s created millions of jobs, and I had no idea she’d be that successful.
‘The “millions of jobs” claim is not true. (Through Ivanka’s work as an adviser to the president, companies such as Walmart and IBM have pledged to provide re-skilling opportunities over the next five years, mainly to people with jobs already.)’
https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1116672461599383553
Ivanka seems content to soak up the praise and ignore the giant mess her father has created. At an event honoring the passage of the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act, the reporter from The Atlantic noted that ignoring that mess seems to be part of Ivanka’s job. She told the crowd that:
‘”People say Washington doesn’t work,” Ivanka told the gathering, according to an attendee who paraphrased her remarks. “But this room tells you bipartisanship is possible.” She made no mention of the fact that, outside, thanks to her father’s insistence on building a border wall despite bipartisan opposition, the U.S. government was mired in the longest shutdown in its history.’
Running the @worldbank is like being a run-of-the-mill accountant. "I even thought of Ivanka for the World Bank. . . . She would’ve been great at that because she’s very good with numbers.” We're desensitized to the nepotism & incompetence of this admin. https://t.co/KXDKA4hmtj
— Michael Ian Westphal (@PeaceWestphalia) April 12, 2019
Featured image via Flickr by Michael Vadon under a Creative Commons license
