Ivanka Trump was given a prominent front-row seat for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s remarks during his state visit to Washington. President Donald Trump’s Cabinet officials, meanwhile, were seated farther from the podium.
Trump and Xi both spoke Thursday at the White House, highlighting their close relationship and calling for greater cooperation on pressing issues including artificial intelligence.
Trump’s eldest daughter, now a private citizen, sat alongside her 15-year-old daughter, Arabella.
Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance were seated with them.
Situated further from the podium sat Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and other administration officials.
The seating configuration sparked outcry online, even from a prominent conservative.
“Who did the seating arrangement for the Pres and Xi?” NewsMax host Greta Van Susteren questioned on X. “Ivanka is seated better than Cabinet Secretaries Rubio and Bessent .. this is a State visit.”
“Why is alleged private citizen Ivanka Trump sitting by JD Vance, Rubio, and Bessent?” journalist Aaron Rupar added.
Ivanka Trump, 44, held an official role during her father’s first term before later saying she wanted to leave politics behind.
In 2017, she moved to Washington and became an unpaid adviser to the president, focusing on economic development and education.
Her tenure was not without controversy. In 2019, the Chinese government approved over a dozen trademarks for companies linked to Ivanka Trump — including some covering handbags, jewelry and shoes — raising potential conflict-of-interest concerns.
The approvals came months after the president’s daughter said she was shuttering her brand, Ivanka Trump Marks LLC, to focus more fully on government work.
Arabella has a previous connection to Xi. In April 2017, during the Chinese president’s trip to the U.S., the then-six-year-old sang a song in Mandarin for him at Mar-a-Lago. A video of her singing was also played during Trump’s visit to Beijing in November the same year.
After Donald Trump left office in 2021 and later announced another presidential bid, Ivanka Trump expressed her desire to step away from politics.
“I love my father very much,” she told Fox News in 2022. “This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics.”
Yet, since then, she has attended a number of high-level events alongside her 80-year-old father, including a state dinner for King Charles in April.
Meanwhile, her husband, Jared Kushner, has remained closely involved in the administration as a diplomatic envoy working to help negotiate an end to the wars in Ukraine and Iran.
This year, the couple announced their plans for a “massive” real estate development project on a protected island off the coast of Albania. The plan hasn’t gone over well in Tirana, the nation’s capital, where tens of thousands have taken to the streets to protest the project.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
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