A CNN political analyst on Tuesday described Ivanka Trump’s trip to the Winter Olympics in South Korea as “freelancing [foreign policy] in a fur coat.”
The commentary from Daily Beast editor-in-chief and managing editor Jon Avlon comes after a Tuesday CNN report that Ivanka Trump’s trip to the games has irked White House chief of staff John Kelly, who reportedly said that she is “playing government,” per a CNN source close to the president.
“Remember, this is the United States of America and we tend not to have son-in-law and daughters running governments, historically,” explained Avlon, a former speechwriter for former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. “If Kelly is feeling frustration about Ivanka, he certainly feels it about Jared [Kushner].”
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Both Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, a former publisher, serve as senior advisers to the president.
“We may well go to war if [North Korea] continues to have nuclear weapons,” he continued. “So this isn’t simply niceties. This is serious stuff. That’s why it happens. This is all happening as the president — premier of China gave himself a lifetime appointment. This is serious stuff and freelancing in a fur coat ain’t going to cut it.”
The line seemed to amuse “New Day” host Chris Cuomo, who repeated it.
“Freelancing in a fur coat,” Cuomo said. “That’s been said about me and I didn’t like it.”
The White House has pushed back on the report with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling CNN that Kelly and national security adviser H.R. McMaster had signed off on the first daughter’s trip.
“Gen. Kelly and Gen. McMaster were supportive of the trip since the planning process began,” Sanders said. “We all thought it was a great success. Ivanka was a great representative for the administration.”
Sanders and Ivanka Trump both visited Pyeongchang, South Korea, last week for the closing ceremonies of the Winter Games.