I think it is a chance for the global power structure to give Ivanka Trump status. As First Daughter and a grown woman with her own business, President Trump was interested in her taking on a White House identity. It is an indulgence the American people are not used to and it is awkward to say the least, but, it also is an acceptance of the power of the USA President and a daughter that is devoted to him and his success.
Are there ethical issues? Maybe. Is she lending her time as a volunteer or is there money involved. While Hillary Clinton was First Lady she was very visible and traveled to countries such as Pakistan where there was a woman Prime Minister at the time.
The FUND being discussed is suppose to be available through the World Bank. I think this is very similar to any Clinton Foundation effort. When Secretary of State Clinton took office she had already resigned her position with the organization. These are very similar activities. Large pots of money for worthy causes funded by countries as well as large commercial enterprises.
It is rather odd to have the First Daughter involved, but, we already know the First Lady is devoted to her son and he is still in school. Would this normally be Melania Trump carrying all this forward, probably not. Mrs. Trump has a business, but, she is more or less known for her modeling career and not her business savvy.
The optics with Ivanka are not good and it all looks fairly awkward, however, world leaders are interested in giving her a seat at the table to a fund that will benefit women. For now, I think I can respect that and promote the idea of a global movement of capable women moving into positions of power. But, the fund has to benefit the women it was intended. Global leaders are involved, they are seeking monies for this fund and they certainly know how to secure large amounts of monies. It has merit. For now.
April 25, 2017
...Whatever (click here) else can be said about Ivanka Trump, she is a strange sort of American celebrity. It was her first official trip abroad with her new, Hydra-headed roles as First Daughter and assistant to the president on behalf of her father’s administration, and consummate D.C. power-couple-better-half. Then there was the deeper question of whether she was her father’s loyal defender, or somehow, behind the scenes, a positive force, and whether she could be both. She’d been invited to the event by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as precise a polar-opposite world leader to her father as can be imagined. During the campaign, Trump was harshly critical of her, and notoriously didn’t shake her hand at an Oval Office photo op, though now Trump says he simply did not hear her request for a handshake. During that visit, Merkel and Ivanka held a meeting on how to advance female entrepreneurs, and Merkel clearly saw her as a possibly useful emissary....
