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Ivanka Trump meeting with Kim Jong-Un revealed in North Korea footage, as excruciating G20 intervention prompts questions over her role

President's daughter widely ridiculed over attempts to join in with diplomatic talks along with world leaders

Tim Wyatt
Monday 01 July 2019 16:30 BST
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North Korean state TV releases video of Kim Jong-un meeting with Donald Trump and Ivanka

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Ivanka Trump joined her father at his historic meeting at the Korean border with Kim Jong-Un, a North Korean documentary has revealed.

The “first daughter” can be seen in images broadcast on North Korean TV of the discussion between the US president and Mr Kim.

The revelation Ms Trump was included in the talks will further fuel a growing controversy about the 37-year-old’s role in the White House.

Officially, she is only an advisor to the president and has said her focus is on women’s economic empowerment and skills development in the workplace.

But her participation in the high-level diplomacy of the North Korean summit came only days after she was seen taking part in the G20 conference in Osaka, Japan.

A video released by the French presidency showed Ms Trump attempting to butt into a conversation between Theresa May, Emmanuel Macron and Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund.

Ms Trump also featured prominently in official leaders’ photographs and was dispatched to speak to journalists after her father’s meetings with some of the heads of government present.

Her G20 appearances have prompted widespread derision, with many questioning why Mr Trump had brought someone with no diplomatic or foreign policy experience to the summit and ridiculing her attempts to join discussions between world leaders.

The excruciating exchange rapidly became a viral meme that saw Twitter users photoshopping pictures of the first daughter into iconic moments in history – including the Yalta conference where the Allies carved up post-war Europe and Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech in Washington DC – under the hashtag #UnwantedIvanka.

Firebrand Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has also attacked Ms Trump’s outsized influence.

Commentators ridiculed Ms Trump's presence at the G20 summit, where she joined the official leaders' photograph
Commentators ridiculed Ms Trump's presence at the G20 summit, where she joined the official leaders' photograph (PA)

Tweeting the G20 video, she wrote: “It may be shocking to some, but being someone’s daughter actually isn’t a career qualification.

“It hurts our diplomatic standing when the President phones it in & the world moves on. The US needs our President working the G20. Bringing a qualified diplomat couldn’t hurt either.”

A former US ambassador to South Korea, Christopher Hill, said Ms Trump’s presence gave the impression America was a “constitutional monarchy”.

“It says to our allies, to everyone we do business with, that the only people who matter are Trump and his family members," he said.

Ivanka Trump muscles in on conversation between Macron, May, Trudeau and Lagarde at G20

Despite her governmental inexperience and lack of qualifications, Mr Trump frequently hails his daughter as one of his most trusted and skilled advisors.

He has publicly mooted the idea of nominating her to become US ambassador to the United Nations or head of the World Bank, and said she would be “very hard to beat” if she chose to run for president.

Before Mr Trump appointed her to her poorly-defined White House post, Ms Trump had mostly worked for the Trump family company and run her own Ivanka Trump fashion brand.

Her father’s trip to Asia ended with an appearance at an army base in South Korea, where he called up Ms Trump to the join him and the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on stage and described them as a “beautiful couple”.

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