July 02, 2019
Why Ivanka Trump didn’t belong anywhere near the DMZ or the G-20 summit
Since President Trump took office, the White House has been pushing the boundaries of what the American public will tolerate in terms of family involvement in presidential decision-making, intermingling of official government business with Trump’s private businesses and development of foreign policy strategy. (After all, the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, just released a Middle East peace plan.) But even by Trump’s low standards, this past week broke new ground.
The president put forth his daughter Ivanka as a stand-in for actual diplomats and government officials at several high-level meetings and interactions with world leaders at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, and at meetings in South Korea and the demilitarized zone on the North Korea-South Korea border. Ivanka Trump was by the president’s side for his visit to the DMZ, while his national security adviser, John Bolton, was dispatched to Mongolia. A video showed her apparently trying to join a conversation among French President Emmanuel Macron, outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde in an encounter that looked as though she thought she was at a Hamptons cocktail party. The first daughter was later introduced alongside Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a visit with U.S. troops in South Korea.
This ascension of family-directed foreign affairs is an unhealthy development for our democracy. And Ivanka Trump ought to back off: Americans didn’t elect her, we don’t have any way of holding her accountable and we don’t support her playacting at government.
Read the full article in The Washington Post.
More from CNAS
-
The Fed, Ed Accreditation, and DHS
Podcast
Loren and Radha reminisce about wintry memories and Benedict Cumberbatch before a cocktail parties worth of gossip on Fed rates, tariffs, and appropriations politics. In dumps...
By Carrie Cordero
-
Accountability and Oversight Concerns in DHS
Video
CNAS general counsel and senior fellow Carrie Cordero joins CNN to discuss a 2020 CNAS report detailing how to improve the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through enhanc...
By Carrie Cordero
-
Legal Questions Remain After U.S. Capture of Maduro
Video
CNAS senior fellow and general counsel Carrie Cordero joined CNN to discuss the arrest and capture of Venezuelan leader Maduro, legal issues surrounding the military campaign ...
By Carrie Cordero
-
Nicolás Maduro Indictment Implications
Video
CNAS senior fellow and general counsel Carrie Cordero joined CNN to discuss the case brought against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration's interventi...
By Carrie Cordero
