Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump sat in Thursday on the president-elect's first meeting with a head of state, raising ethical questions and eyebrows again over the future administration's conflicts of interest.
The meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took place at "Trump's gilded Manhattan penthouse."
U.S. News & World Report writes that "Ivanka Trump's presence at the meeting was only made public when the Japanese government released photos, as the Trump team has continued to bar journalists from witnessing all but the most superficial aspects of the transition."
CBS News describes her presence, along with that of her husband, Jared Kushner, as "a reminder of potential conflicts of interest between Donald Trump's businesses and the White House" as well as his adult children's future roles in the White House.
Ivanka and Kushner are on the Trump transition team's executive committee.
"Their involvement raises a host of ethical questions," Emily Jane Fox writes at Vanity Fair, as "it appears to violate the 1967 nepotism law put in place after John Kennedy installed his kid brother Bobby as attorney general." There's also the fact that Ivanka, along with her two brothers, will reportedly run the real estate mogul's business empire in a "blind trust."
"Which, as you hardly need to be sharp-eyed to point out, makes it a bit odd that she's sitting in on presidential state business," Marine Hyde writes at the Guardian.
Hyde added, "Before you could say ‘conflict of interests’, America’s most dysfunctional family have already begun blurring the lines between politics and business"
Asked by host Andrea Mitchell about the transition and about Ivanka sitting in on the Abe meeting, New York Times journalist Mark Landler, appearing on MSNBC on Friday afternoon, said: "I mean, everything about the first week in terms of foreign policy flew in the face of all diplomatic protocol."
Abe, for his part, emerged from the meeting saying he is "convinced Mr. Trump is a leader in whom I can have great confidence."
Meanwhile, on Twitter, many were taking note of how just inappropriate and troubling the decision was:
Attention @realDonaldTrump. Nobody else in your family was "elected." Get your daughter THE FUCK OUT OF STATE MEETINGS https://t.co/rycqDeaFhU
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) November 18, 2016
This isn’t just a photo of Ivanka Trump. It’s a middle finger to democracy.https://t.co/a83u4WNIAr pic.twitter.com/b4szbkucQ1
— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) November 18, 2016
Unelected businesswoman Ivanka Trump joins meeting with father Donald and Japanese PM https://t.co/jyn2a7LGP9
— The Independent (@Independent) November 18, 2016
Why Ivanka Trump sitting in on that meeting with Japan's PM is a big no-no: It's mixing business with diplomacy https://t.co/AEpvFsUgKW
— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) November 18, 2016
Does Ivanka Trump have business interests in Japan?
So much for blind trust and the Presidency.— Alasscan™ Hate Won (@Alasscan_) November 18, 2016
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG https://t.co/KYLDnM9NM8 pic.twitter.com/tvkL0wbL7b
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) November 18, 2016
