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G20: Ivanka Trump sits in for Donald Trump at table of world leaders

Published: July 9 2017 - 7:08AM

Hamburg: First daughter Ivanka Trump took her father's seat at a G20 meeting table in Hamburg on Saturday, sitting in for the US President when he stepped away for one-on-one meetings with world leaders.

As an unpaid adviser to her father, Ivanka told Fox & Friends last month that she tries to "stay out of politics".

But as President Trump stepped away from the a G20 session on Saturday to meet with the president of Indonesia, Ivanka literally took his seat among world leaders, sitting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Theresa May.

An aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin tweeted out a photo of the event. The aide later deleted the tweet, but not before it made the rounds on the Internet.

Ivanka's appearance at the world table sparked immediate condemnation, with many saying it was "inappropriate".

"It's completely inappropriate," a former director of progressive media for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, Zerlina Maxwell, told MSNBC.

"What qualifications and experience does Ivanka Trump have in her background that should put her at the table with world leaders like Theresa May and Vladimir Putin? Literally a foot over from Vladimir Putin. This just goes to, I think, the level of inherent corruption in this administration."

Historian Anne Applebaum was quoted by Agence France-Presse as criticising what she called "an unelected, unqualified, unprepared New York socialite" being seen as "the best person to represent American national interests".

A spokesman for Ivanka said she had been sitting at the back of the room and had 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, the spokesman said.

Her presence at the top G20 table is the sort of blurring of lines between family and official business that Donald Trump is often criticised for. It would be highly unusual for other world leaders to have family members take their place at the tables of such a high-profile international event.

The photo was tweeted by the Russian sherpa to the G20, Svetlana Lukash.

And replaces Pres Trump at the #G20 table as he leaves for bilateral meetings pic.twitter.com/Hf1zfGQeIP

The photo was retweeted thousands of times within the first hour, and met with incredulity online.

Ivanka Trump sitting in at G20 instead of her father is breathtakingly insane. She designs shoes... #G20

I understand Ivanka Trump is sitting at the #G20 leaders table this morning instead of US President Donald Trump. Source: "Incredible!!!"

Ivanka sitting in for Trump at the G20 table. I'm genuinely ashamed that nobody had the guts to tell her to jog on https://t.co/nSWIlLRNTP

Earlier in the day, Ivanka Trump took part in an event that saw the World Bank launch a fund for women entrepreneurs. The President praised his daughter's work at the event.

"I'm very proud of my daughter, Ivanka, always have been from day one," he said. "I have to tell you that, from day one ... If she weren't my daughter it'd be so much easier for her. It might be the only bad thing she has going if you want to know the truth."

Bloomberg

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/world/g20-ivanka-trump-sits-in-for-donald-trump-at-table-of-world-leaders-20170708-gx7gfh.html