Ivanka Trump’s History of Sitting in Inappropriate Seats

Before Ivanka Trump broke the mold, and potentially an anti-nepotism law, by serving as both an assistant to the president and First Daughter, the 35-year-old was a New York real estate heiress and executive. In both her past and current lives, her father’s stature has opened one gilded door after another to her, putting her at the nexus of global power players at the highest levels. According to e-mails obtained by the The New York Times, one of those opportunities was apparently in Moscow more than a decade ago, where a business associate boasted he arranged for Ivanka to sit in Putin’s private chair at his desk in the Kremlin (She told the Times that it was possible she sat in the chair, but she did not recall it). This was hardly the last time she plunked down in a controversial spot; in fact, her chosen seats have repeatedly landed her in hot water—and increasingly so as she took on a role in the West Wing. Here, we take an incomplete look at some of her most controversial resting spots.

 

Her Second Desk

There is no official Trump family creed, at least one that is publicly known, but it could be something like: what’s dad’s is ours and again, what’s dad’s is ours. That, apparently, includes the desk in the Oval Office, which Ivanka has kept warm on multiple occasions, including this phone call with the astronaut who broke the record for the longest stay aboard the International Space Station.

 

Merk Perk

Before Ivanka Trump even had an official title, a security clearance, or a West Wing office (in fact, she was still denying that she would be a government employee at this point), she still managed to score a spot directly next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on her visit to the White House in March. We’ll call it an unofficial official work perk.

A Berlin Chill

There was an elected head of state, a head of the International Monetary Fund, a foreign minister, and a real live queen on stage at the W20 summit in Berlin in April. Ivanka Trump was there, too, after her former seat-mate Merkel invited her to join. But even the panel’s moderator was unsure of why she was there—asking her to clarify whether she was representing the interests of the U.S., her father, or her business. Members of the crowd later groaned when she highlighted her father’s support of women in business.

 

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