Social media users along with the headlines in the news around the nation today offered many opinions after Ivanka Trump sat in for her father at a meeting at the G20 Summit. While Ivanka was the seat filler for her dad only temporarily, people took to social media to remind Ivanka and the Trump family that people are voted into office in America. They were relentless in their critiques after Ivanka was captured in a photo sitting among the high-profile world leaders in seats that are typically filled with the dignitaries and highest political figures of the various countries.
The posts and tweets are endless as people found Ivanka sitting in a seat that is reserved for the person America voted into office extremely inappropriate. The comments contained words like “unelected” and “unqualified” that showed up frequently in the online complaints , according to the Washington Post.
Ivanka didn’t go to this meeting in place of her father, she sat in for him when he needed to leave the room for a moment during the “Partnership with Africa, Migration and Health” meeting that took place on Saturday. A Russian attendee shared a picture on Twitter that had Ivanka Trump seated between British Prime Minister Theresa May and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The other dignitaries in the vicinity of Ivanka were German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to a previous article from the Inquisitr , it is not unusual for Ivanka to accompany her father to events and meetings and Trump raves about the help she’s given him. When a dignitary gets up from one of these G20 meetings, a seat filler, such as an aide, will sit in their place until they return.
The picture that started the firestorm was up online for a while, but it has since been taken down from its original post. That didn’t make the picture go away, as with anything put online for even a minute, there’s a chance of retweets, screenshots, and shares, any of which will keep that post alive and well for the eternity of the Internet, whenever that may be.
President’s daughter filling in at this AM’s #G20 – sitting next to Chinese President Xi (Photo/ @LanaLukash ) pic.twitter.com/kzl8eahobG
— West Wing Reports / Paul Brandus (and on Mastodon) (@WestWingReport) July 8, 2017
Some got creative with their criticism, like the tweet below where Elizabeth Spears reminds the Twitter world that the G20 “is not Take Your Daughter to Work Day.” While it was criticism done up in a lighthearted and comical way, it was meant to criticize the president and Ivanka. The tweet following the one below is from Twitter user Nicholas Kristof, who also got creative to get his point across with the “banana-republicky” play on words. Some of the tweets and Facebook posts couldn’t be repeated here on Inquisitr .
Ivanka fills in for her dad beside Xi Jinping. To me, it feels banana-republicky for the US to be represented by an inexperienced daughter. https://t.co/lDDlyCeFp9
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) July 8, 2017
While Trump critics had a field day with this, there were some people who saw absolutely nothing wrong with Ivanka sitting in her dad’s chair so he could step out of the room for a moment.
Others focused on who shared this picture online, which was “a Russian attendee,” according to the Washington Post . As you can see in the Twitter posts below, some folks thought the Russians saw this picture as a way of starting a controversy. If that was the case, they were right on the money — it worked! The controversy is still growing today.
Russians continue to play us by releasing a photo they knew would cause controversy. Maybe they thought it inappropriate behavior as well.
— Natalia Nikolaevna (@schleppamazeppa) July 8, 2017
Then the comparisons started, with Chelsea Clinton at the head of the class. Brian Fallon, who now works at CNN, but was a spokesperson for Hillary Clinton’s campaign, tweeted, “I’m sure Republicans would have taken it in stride if Chelsea Clinton was deputized to perform head of state duties.”
Others also suggested how the Republicans would have a field day if Chelsea Clinton ever filled that seat in place of one of her parents. CNN News reported that an aide to the president or dignitary usually steps in and takes a seat when one of the world leaders need to leave the room for various reasons. They usually fill the seat until the world leader is back. With Ivanka working in the White House, she fits the bill as an aide to her dad.
[Featured Image by Bernd von Jutrczenka/AP Images]