Ivanka sits in for US President Trump at G20 meet

Breaking protocol, United States President Donald Trump’s daughter and White House advisor Ivanka Trump in an unprecedented move replaced the leader at the heads of government meet at G-20 when the US President left for bilateral meets during the session.

Democratic countries do not follow the practice of placing unelected representatives to replace state heads and as per the protocol the vice-president or the Secretary of State should have taken the place of the president.

Ivanka, who accompanied her father on the second day of the G-20 summit at a session about Africa, Migration and Health later replaced him as the leader left for bilateral meetings.

Some critics online compared Ivanka Trump’s presence at the table to a “banana republic” and argued that she is both “unelected” and “unqualified” to step into a role usually filled by officials with policy expertise.

Earlier, questions have been raised about Ivanka’s informal role at the White House. She came under the scanner for being present at a meeting, at which reporters were not allowed, between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in November last year.

Later in March, she came under fire after announcing she would become an advisor without a specific title, but with an office in the West Wing, a government-issued phone and computer and security clearance to access classified information.

Following criticism from ethics experts, Ivanka was officially appointed as an unpaid advisor to her father in the White House, alongside her husband earlier in March this year.

-- Inputs from Agencies

Image: Ivanka Trump takes her seat at a meeting during the G20 summit in Hamburg. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/Pool/Reuters