Family Affair
Ivanka Trump’s White House “Wall” Comes Crashing Down
The power of Donald Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, continues to build within Trump Tower.
eft, by Bryan R. Smith/AFP, right, from The Washington Post, both from Getty Images.
While some world leaders have reportedly had a difficult time getting in touch with Donald Trump as he remains holed up in Trump Tower, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
managed to get through. In what was the president-elect’s first
face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader since ascending to the role,
Trump invited Abe to sit down for an impromptu meeting within the
confines of his gilded halls on Thursday evening.
The 90-minute meeting, held in a room that would not have looked out of place in one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces,
was significant for a number of reasons. It was Trump’s debut foray
into diplomacy, for one. It was also a step toward quelling some of the
anxiety Trump sparked among Japanese officials during the campaign,
after he suggested that Japan was too dependent on U.S. military
protection and that the country arm itself with nuclear weapons in order
to protect itself from North Korea. His stark opposition to the
Trans-Pacific Partnership—a trade agreement on which Abe has worked with
President Obama as a cornerstone of Japan’s economic
plans—also alarmed officials leading up to the sit-down. Pool reporters
were not allowed into the meeting or offered the opportunity to ask
questions before or after, and Trump’s camp did not provide photos of the event, beyond one the Donald himself posted on Facebook.
While
the Trump transition team may have kept a lid on the meeting, the
Japanese government provided a handout to waiting reporters, showing Abe
seated next to Trump on a long, beige silk couch. Across from them was
Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.
More photos published by Reuters show that Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner, the quiet force
within the transition team who is reportedly in consideration for a top
strategic role within the Trump administration, also greeted the Prime
Minister.
Politico reported that Vice President-elect Mike Pence
arrived at some point, though it is unclear for how long any of them
took part in the meeting and what their roles were within it (such are
the reasons that a presidential pool exists). A representative for
Ivanka declined to comment, and a spokesperson for the Trump campaign
did not respond to a request for comment. A source close to the family
emphasized that it was an informal meeting, and that Ivanka’s presence
spoke to her longstanding relationship with her father, who trusts her
and has always encouraged her to attend meetings with him. But as they
adjust to their new reality, the family understands that “this isn’t
something that would be regular occurrence.”
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Ivanka
and Jared’s presence at the meeting fanned speculation that his
favorite child and her husband, now among his most trusted advisers,
will carve out a rarefied position
within Trump’s White House—an unprecedented role for First Children or
in-laws. Trump has faced a series of questions about his family’s
involvement in his upcoming administration, particularly since they were
named to the executive committee of his transition team. Inquiries have
reportedly been made about giving security clearances to Trump’s
children, and a top-level clearance for Kushner so he can sit in on
presidential daily briefings (Trump himself denied that he was seeking
clearances for his children, though a spokesperson did not respond to
requests for comment on whether they were seeking one for Kushner).
Sources within Trump’s inner circle have said that Kushner could be
named a senior adviser or special counsel to the President, according to
The Wall Street Journal.
Ivanka herself has said she plans to take no formal role, but will
champion issues she is passionate about, including wage equality and
child care.
Their
involvement raises a host of ethical questions. For one, it appears to
violate the 1967 nepotism law put in place after John Kennedy installed
his kid brother Bobby as attorney general. But, as tends to happen with
these restrictions, there are work-arounds, and if anyone is skilled at
finding these loopholes, it is the Trumps. Kushner, for instance, could
skirt them by not taking pay, for example, or serving as a key adviser
without accepting a formal position.
Ivanka’s
involvement in Thursdays meeting, and in the broader administration in
general, comes with a whole different set of conflicting interests.
Along with her two brothers, Donald Jr. and Eric,
she is expected to take over her father’s business interests come
January. Donald himself has said that he will hand over the reins to his
children in a “blind trust,” but that is a misnomer, given that the
patriarch still knows what his business holdings consist of and has a
vested interest in supporting his children. And if Ivanka is going to
sit in on meetings with prime ministers, advocate for policy, and share a
bed each night with one of the president’s top advisers, the “wall”
that Trump’s allies have claimed he will build between his children’s
business interests and his own White House dealings will be as worthless
as the one he has pledged to build between the U.S. and Mexico.
Trump’s transition team has yet to address how the family will handle these conflicts of interest in depth, but his ally Rudy Giuliani
said over the weekend that he is sure they will figure it out. “You
have to have some confidence in the integrity of the president,” he said
on CNN last Sunday. “The man is an enormously wealthy man. I don’t
think there’s any real fear or suspicion that he’s seeking to enrich
himself by being president. If he wanted to enrich himself, he wouldn’t
have run for president.”
Whether
and how this could enrich his children and how they will continue to
market their brand in connection with the presidency, though, is still a
question that needs answering. Abe, the prime minister, who told
reporters that they had a “very candid talk . . . in a very warm
atmosphere,” reportedly walked away from the meeting with golf gear
courtesy of the Trumps.
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