Welcome to the partisan fury, Michelle Wolf
White House Correspondents Association roaster Michelle Wolf joins a club with likes of Kathy Griffin, Khizr Khan, Stormy Daniels and David Hogg — little-known or unknown figures who suddenly became surrogates for the hyper-partisan rhetorical warfare of the Trump era. President Trump tweeted his disgust at Wolf’s weekend routine on Monday, she was a hot topic on “The View” and the subject of a long and loud CNN exchange between Chris Cuomo and a conservative official. Journalists wondered if the annual WHCA dinner should be changed or ditched. A backlash quickly surfaced. Wolf had become a political symbol, much like Parkland student Hogg when he spoke out on gun restrictions, Khan when he spoke against Trump at the Democratic National Convention, Griffin when she posted a picture of herself with a mock-up of Trump’s severed head. Trump’s supporters took up the cause. Cuomo interviewed Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, who tweeted that he and his wife, Mercedes Schlapp, director of strategic communications at the White House, walked out of the dinner. A “Fox & Friends” chyron read: “Should all women be critical of Wolf’s jokes?” Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer called it a disgrace, to which Wolf tweeted: “Thank you.” But a backlash to the criticism quickly developed, with some wondering why the correspondents should be surprised to get edgy comedy from an edgy comedian. “The comedian did her job,” said Sara Haines on “The View” Monday. “She is there to push the envelope.” Don’t like it? “Hire a juggler next year,” ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel tweeted. In his interview with Schlapp, Cuomo pressed the point that many Trump opponents made: how can you be insulted by Wolf’s routine and not by some of the things that Trump has said or done? While Wolf’s performance was vulgar and unseemly, “the three-year performance of candidate and president Donald Trump has been vulgar, unseemly and infinitely more damaging to our civil discourse,” tweeted conservative commentator Bill Kristol. The White House quickly sniffed an opportunity. Trump, who held a rally in Michigan at the same time as the dinner, asked aides for an update soon after leaving the stage. When he watched it being talked about on cable TV the next day, he called several outside advisers to bash the comedian, saying she was unfunny and mean-spirited. He told at least one confidante that it again proved he can’t get a fair shake from the media and he was certain his base would agree with him Wolf, who begins a Netflix show later this month and is best known for work on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” was not made available to The Associated Press on Monday. She tweeted a few replies to critics. Her routine directed barbs at Congress, Democrats and the media. But the jokes that targeted Trump, his daughter Ivanka and press aides Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kellyanne Conway attracted the most negative attention. Her comedy was risque; C-SPAN radio cut away from her routine over what its management called an “abundance of caution” about whether she’d violate FCC indecency guidelines. Wolf joked that Ivanka Trump had proven as useful to women as “a box of empty tampons.” She wished for a tree to fall on Conway, not so she’d get hurt — just stuck. Wolf suggested Sanders burns facts and uses the ashes to create perfect eye makeup. Margaret Talev, president of the reporters’ organization that puts on the dinner, said in a statement that she’d heard from members who expressed dismay with Wolf’s monologue. The WHCA wanted to honor free press and great reporting, “not to divide people,” Talev said. “Unfortunately, the entertainer’s monologue was not in the spirit of that mission.” Some reporters, notably Maggie Haberman of The New York Times in expressing support for Sanders, made their feelings known publicly. It’s not the first time comics have made people uneasy at the event, particularly since it has been televised across the country: Don Imus, Stephen Colbert and Larry Wilmore all had their critics. Trump’s absence magnified the reaction to Wolf, since no one took to the podium to punch back. Trump did so on Twitter. “The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is DEAD as we know it,” he tweeted Monday. “This was a total disaster and an embarrassment to our great Country and all that it stands for. FAKE NEWS is alive and well and beautifully represented on Saturday night!” Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Martha Roby joins Ivanka Trump, House and Senate leaders to push child tax credit expansion
Alabama 2nd District U.S. Rep. Martha Roby appeared alongside First Daughter Ivanka Trump as well Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday to promote the expansion of the child tax credit to help working families as part of a GOP tax-reform proposal. “Expanding the child tax credit is the right thing to do,” Roby said at a news conference promoting the proposal. “For the people I represent, this can make a big difference. For that mom working a retail job or the dad driving the truck or the parent working two or three jobs so the other one can stay home – having a couple thousand dollars in your pocket is a big deal.” She continued, “I promise you parents know how to spend that money better than the government does.” Ivanka Trump, who has championed policies to help working families in the Trump Administration, said the child tax credit expansion is key to the President’s commitment to ensuring tax reform benefits middle class Americans. “Today, the vast majority of American homes are dual income,” Ivanka said. “Our tax code has to recognize and support this reality and support our dual values of work and a family. Over the years, as wages have stagnated the costs of raising a family have grown exponentially,” she added. “It is a priority of this administration and it is a legislative priority to ensure that American families can thrive and that we deliver real and meaningful tax relief to middle-income Americans.” Under the tax reform framework from House and Senate Republicans and the White House, the child tax credit, which currently provides working families with $1,000 per child, would be significantly increased and made available to more middle and lower income Americans. Details of the tax reform proposal are still being crafted. Specifics about the current blueprint are available on the House Ways and Means website here. Watch the full news conference including comments from Rep. Roby and Ivanka Trump below:
Ivanka Trump’s business ties shrouded in secrecy in China
It is no secret that the bulk of Ivanka Trump’s merchandise comes from China. But just which Chinese companies manufacture and export her handbags, shoes and clothes is more secret than ever, an Associated Press investigation has found. In the months since she took her White House role, public information about the companies importing Ivanka Trump goods to the U.S. has become harder to find. Information that once routinely appeared in private trade tracking data has vanished, leaving the identities of companies involved in 90 percent of shipments unknown. Even less is known about her manufacturers. Trump’s brand, which is still owned by the first daughter and presidential adviser, declined to disclose the information. The deepening secrecy means it’s unclear who Ivanka Trump’s company is doing business with in China, even as she and her husband, Jared Kushner, have emerged as important conduits for top Chinese officials in Washington. The lack of disclosure makes it difficult to understand whether foreign governments could use business ties with her brand to try to influence the White House — and whether her company stands to profit from foreign government subsidies that can destroy American jobs. Such questions are especially pronounced in China, where state-owned and state-subsidized companies dominate large swaths of commercial activity. “There should be more transparency, but right now we do not have the legal mechanism to enforce transparency unless Congress requests information through a subpoena,” said Richard Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer for George W. Bush, and is part of a lawsuit against President Donald Trump for alleged constitutional violations. “I don’t know how much money she’s making on this and why it’s worth it. I think it’s putting our trade policy in a very awkward situation.” An AP review of the records that are available about Ivanka Trump’s supply chain found two potential red flags. In one case, a province in eastern China announced the award of export subsidies to a company that shipped thousands of Ivanka Trump handbags between March 2016 and February of this year, Chinese public records show — a possible violation by China of global fair trade rules, trade experts said. The AP also found that tons of Ivanka Trump clothing were exported from 2013 to 2015 by a company owned by the Chinese government, according to public records and trade data. It is unclear whether the brand is still working with that company, or other state-owned entities. Her brand has pledged to avoid business with state-owned companies now that she’s a White House adviser, but contends that its supply chains are not its direct responsibility. Ivanka Trump’s brand doesn’t actually make its products directly. Instead, it contracts with licensees who oversee production of her merchandise. In exchange, those licensees pay the brand royalties. The AP asked Ivanka Trump’s brand for a list of its suppliers. The company declined to disclose them. The clothing, footwear and handbag licensees contacted by AP also declined to reveal source factories. Abigail Klem, president of IT Operations LLC, which manages Ivanka Trump’s brand, said the company does not contract with foreign state-owned companies or benefit from Chinese government subsidies. However, she acknowledged that its licensees might. “We license the rights to our brand name to licensing companies that have their own supply chains and distribution networks,” Klem said in an email. “The brand receives royalties on sales to wholesalers and would not benefit if a licensee increased its profit margin by obtaining goods at a lower cost,” she added. But Michael Stone, chairman of Beanstalk, a global brand licensing agency, said lower production costs for licensees would ultimately benefit Ivanka Trump by freeing up money for marketing or lower retail prices, both of which drive sales. “It gives her a competitive advantage and an indirect benefit to her financially,” Stone said. “The more successful the licensee is the more successful Ivanka Trump is going to be.” The AP identified companies that sent Ivanka Trump products to the United States by looking at shipment data maintained by ImportGenius and Panjiva Inc., private companies that independently track global trade. Panjiva’s records show that 85 percent of shipments of her goods to the U.S. this year originated in China and Hong Kong, but beyond that, it’s becoming more difficult to map the brand’s global footprint. The companies that shipped Ivanka Trump merchandise to the U.S. are listed for just five of 57 shipments logged by Panjiva from the end of March, when she officially became a presidential adviser, through mid-September. Panjiva collects data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which did not immediately release the missing data to AP. While in many cases the manufacturer ships goods directly, merchandise can also be made by one company and shipped by another trading or consolidation company. There used to be more visibility. Last year, 27 percent of the companies that exported Ivanka Trump merchandise to the U.S. were identified in Panjiva’s records, and back in 2014 a full 95 percent were named. For two of Ivanka Trump’s licensees — G-III Apparel Group Ltd. and Marc Fisher Footwear — the number of shipments appears to plunge in 2015, likely because they “requested to hide” their shipment activity, according to Panjiva records. Neither company responded to AP’s questions. The brand declined to comment on the growing murkiness of its supply chain. Chris Rogers, an analyst at Panjiva, said any company can ask customs authorities to redact its information for any reason. About a quarter of companies request anonymity, he said, but the majority don’t mind disclosing who they’re doing business with. “A lot of companies have said, ‘yes there might be a commercial disadvantage, but we want to be transparent about our supply chain,’” he explained. “‘Why would we want to cover up the fact that we’re working with this particular company?’” While ethics lawyers may see disclosure as the best antidote to conflict of interest, many brands see it as a tool to keep supply chains scandal-free. Public outcry over
Stilettos, sexism and stupidity: Newsweek’s attack on Trump women
Earlier this week, Newsweek published a story entitled “Melania, Ivanka and Ivana Trump wear high heels, a symbol of everything that is beautiful and horrifying about them.” My first thought upon seeing the headline was that it had to be satire. We’re in 2017, clearly there’s not people out there who would waste their breath or dedicate online news space to what shoes the women of the first family are wearing, as if it’s a statement not only about their fashion choices but about their desire to make themselves sex symbols, but alas the writer did. After reading the story in all of its vomit inducing glory I thought to myself, “maybe we the readers are being put on as part of an internal gag?” Surely the author/journalist was being punked or hazed by being assigned this story or offering it up as a topic? Could it be someone fresh out of college or whose only experience in journalism was an internship at their schools paper took this on as a joke? Alas, not a newbie according to her bio page on the site, “Nina Burleigh is Newsweek’s National Politics Correspondent. She is an award-winning journalist and the author of five books. Her last book, The Fatal Gift of Beauty: The Trials of Amanda Knox, was a New York Times bestseller. In the last several years, she has covered a wide array of subjects, from American politics to the Arab Spring.” Adding insult to insanity in this piece are the so called “experts” that Burleigh relies on to speak to the woes and implications of wearing heels. Experts like British psychologist Paul Morris who apparently has the ability to get into the head of each of the Trump ladies for this astute observation on their shoe preferences, “So to deconstruct why Trump women wear high heels: They are just buying into traditional binary views of male and female.” Seriously? What? I don’t believe that their shoes say anything about their views on gender as much as they speak to I don’t know, their fashion sense and their personal preferences to what they’re most comfortable in. Isn’t that why any of us choose to put on what we wear each day? I know for me if I look good I feel good. Burleigh adds this commentary herself, “So sure are they of their footing that the Trump women, rare political mountain goats, never even look down for obstacles that might break up their gait or send them sprawling.” Did she just call the ladies of the first family “Rare political mountain goats”? Again, I ask, what? Then there’s Former Vogue editor Andre Leon Talley who’s comments range from saying that the high heels aren’t currently “trending” (as if stilettos ever go out of style, even when shoes like this season’s block heel are in) to saying “It is a shoe that defies gravity. It is a risk-taking shoe. If you stumble, you will break your ankle. But these girls have mastered the art absolutely through rigorous discipline of daily exercise and weight loss, and when you set your foot into the toe box you have the mental knowledge that you can’t make those mistakes and fall.” We are still talking about shoes right? I wear high heels at least five days a week and I don’t think it’s very rigorous nor do I think daily exercise or weight loss has anything to do with it. My (least) favorite of all the quotes in the story comes from American anthropologist and author Helen Fisher. Fisher who has this gem to say about women who wear high heels, “When women wear high heels at work, they send sexual signals that should be avoided if they want to be taken seriously.” What is that you say? Wearing heels has the potential to negate a woman’s brains. I don’t know who this is more offensive to, the many women who wear heels to work or the men who can’t listen to said women’s ideas if she’s wearing a particular type of shoes. I’d like to stand up for all sky high heel wearing women (the Trumps, myself and many of my friends) and say Newsweek’s entire article was an affront to women and feminism. The fact is, regardless of gender, political affiliation, and style preferences all should recognize this piece as the garbage it is. Promoting the idea that a woman can be defined or pigeon holed by the shoes she wears is absurd. Newsweek should be ashamed and issue an apology and until then I’ll be looking for the usual liberal nay-sayers who would have you believe conservatives are wagging a “War on Women” to come to the Trump women’s defense.
President Donald Trump says he won’t stay off social media
President Donald Trump may be trying for a reset in the West Wing, but he is making clear that he is not changing his Twitter habit. On Twitter Tuesday, Trump said: “Only the Fake News Media and Trump enemies want me to stop using Social Media (110 million people). Only way for me to get the truth out!” The tweet came one day after retired Gen. John Kelly took over as Trump’s new chief of staff. Tapped to bring order to the chaotic West Wing, Kelly quickly made his presence known Monday — ousting newly appointed communications director Anthony Scaramucci and revising the command structure so that all senior staffers report to him. Those moves were praised Monday by Trump allies and lawmakers, who expressed hope that Kelly would help stem internal conflicts and advance a policy agenda after six months of tumult. But less clear is how much control Kelly will have over Trump’s predilection for sowing conflict and making off-the-cuff comments on social media. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders repeated Tuesday that Kelly had full control over the staff. Asked at a press briefing if senior advisers Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and others would be able to drop in to see the president, she said: “I don’t think anyone just wanders into the Oval Office.” Sanders added that “Gen. Kelly is going to work with the entire team as he has been doing over the last couple of days.” Sen. Lindsey Graham, speaking on NBC’s “Today Show,” said he was encouraged by Kelly’s new role, but stressed that he was looking for “discipline” from Trump in order to move forward with issues like health care and tax reform. “He has an obligation to be president for all of us and stop the chaos. Most of the chaos is generated by him and no one else,” Graham said. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Ivanka Trump speaks at Mike Pence fundraiser
Ivanka Trump has spoken at a fundraiser Tuesday night in Washington for Vice President Mike Pence‘s political committee. That’s according to two people who attended the fundraiser and demanded anonymity to share information from the private event. Trump said Pence has been a key ally of the president and that Republicans should begin preparing for the 2018 congressional elections. Pence’s political committee can dole out money to his preferred candidates. The first daughter’s remarks to a room of donors came as her father attended a political rally in Ohio organized by his 2020 re-election campaign. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Police: Senator impostor tries to see Ivanka at Trump Tower
Police say a man who claimed to be a U.S. senator tried to get inside Trump Tower to see Ivanka Trump and has been arrested. NBC New York says the man had two knives on him when he tried to get into President Donald Trump’s New York City home about 4 p.m. Thursday and asked for the president’s daughter. Police say he had a bullet-resistant vest and a fake ID. Fifty-two-year-old Adames Benitez was arrested on charges of criminal possession of a weapon and possession of a forged instrument. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer who can comment on the charges against him. Police say he appeared to be mentally unstable. Ivanka Trump lives in Washington, D.C. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Ivanka Trump defends paid leave plan in Wall Street Journal
First daughter Ivanka Trump is defending a White House proposal to mandate paid leave for new parents in a letter to the editor published Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal. The paper had previously criticized the Trump administration plan “as bad policy and worse politics” that would increase taxes on business. The plan would be funded through unemployment insurance. But Ivanka Trump says in a response that: “Providing a national guaranteed paid-leave program-with a reasonable time limit and benefit cap-isn’t an entitlement, it’s an investment in America’s working families.” Ivanka Trump has met with Democratic and Republican lawmakers on the issue. The program has limited GOP backing, but more modest tax policies could be included in a Republican tax overhaul effort. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Capitol Hill Buzz: Marco Rubio joke-investigates Ivanka Trump hug
Sometimes all you can do is surrender to Twitter. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio probably started out his day Tuesday thinking about paid family leave, child care tax credits and other deep issues. But when Twitter went wild over an awkward photo of him leaning in for a hug with Ivanka Trump when she arrived for a Capitol Hill meeting, Rubio was smart enough to play along. The photo, taken by an Associated Press congressional reporter with an iPhone, appears to show Trump declining to hug Rubio back as the two greet one another just outside the Capitol. Twitter users dissected the seemingly awkward moment endlessly. They compared Rubio to Ralph Wiggum from “The Simpsons” when he doesn’t get a Valentine’s Day card, and to Dr. Evil from “Austin Powers” asking his son for a hug. Rubio responded in a series of joking tweets late Tuesday, announcing that he would be investigating what he termed the “alleged failed hug.” “We believe we have our own unclassified photographic evidence that will shed greater details on this incident,” the Republican senator said, adding, “We are also attempting to acquire multi-angle video which we believe will provide greater insight into this important matter.” Rubio then posted a blurry photo, taken at a different moment, showing Trump’s hand on Rubio’s shoulder as he smiles. “New photo emerges providing more insight into alleged failed hug. (Faces blurred for security purposes),” was the accompanying caption. Several minutes later that was followed up by another photo showing Trump with her hand on Rubio’s shoulder, and the caption “BREAKING NEWS: Additional photo from moments right after today’s alleged failed hug provide new details to this developing story.” Trump herself joined in Tuesday evening, tweeting: “Anonymous sources say @marcorubio planned the alleged failed hug. I have no comment (but I would have hugged him anyway!)” She then added: “Fake news! Marco is an excellent hugger.” The Associated Press stands by its photo. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Ivanka Trump to talk workforce issues with lawmakers
Ivanka Trump is heading back to Capitol Hill to discuss workforce issues with Republican lawmakers. A spokesman for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy says she will meet with McCarthy and other lawmakers for “a discussion on improvements to our workplace and workforce.” Ivanka Trump appeared with President Donald Trump last week to promote a White House effort to expand apprenticeships. This is her second visit to the Capitol this week. On Tuesday she met with Sen. Marco Rubio and other GOP lawmakers for a conversation that included expanding the child tax credit and paid family leave. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago loses State Department promotion posting
The State Department has removed its promotional posting about President Donald Trump‘s Florida resort, after a storm of ethics criticism. In an April 4 blog post that was republished by several U.S. embassies abroad, Mar-a-Lago was described as “Trump’s Florida estate,” where he has hosted foreign leaders. “By visiting this ‘winter White House,’ Trump is belatedly fulfilling the dream of Mar-a-Lago’s original owner and designer,” the post said. Left unsaid: Mar-a-Lago is part of Trump’s business empire. After his election, the resort doubled its membership fee to $200,000. As president, Trump has visited the property seven times, and its restaurant fills up when he’s in town. The State Department said late Monday that its intention was “to inform the public about where the president has been hosting world leaders” and that it regrets “any misperception.” That statement now appears in place of the original blog post. The White House did not respond to questions about whether it had any involvement in the original posting or the decision to take it down. The post originated on “Share America,” a State Department project. Its website describes its mission as “sharing compelling stories and images that spark discussion and debate on important topics like democracy, freedom of expression, innovation, entrepreneurship, education, and the role of civil society.” Other topics on the Share America page include a new U.S. coin honoring Frederick Douglass, debate over the Confederate flag and news about first lady Melania Trump‘s participation in the State Department’s International Women of Courage award ceremony. The Mar-a-Lago post was nearly three weeks old but gained traction Monday when several people noticed the U.S. embassy to the United Kingdom was featuring it. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, asked on Twitter why taxpayers are “promoting the president’s private country club” and referred to the incident as “kleptocratic.” Norman Eisen, who was President Barack Obama‘s chief ethics attorney, said the promotion is “exploitation.” Eisen compared it to White House counselor Kellyanne Conway‘s promotion of Ivanka Trump‘s clothing business, for which she was “counseled” but not otherwise reprimanded by the White House. “This idea of using government for private gain is metastasizing,” Eisen said. “It must be stopped.” On Twitter, Richard Painter, who served in an ethics role for President George W. Bush, called the State Department post “Use of public office for private gain pure and simple.” Eisen, Painter and other attorneys have sued Trump, alleging violation of the “emoluments clause” of the U.S. Constitution. That provision says the president may not accept foreign gifts or payments without the consent of Congress. The Trump Organization argues that this prohibition wasn’t intended to cover fair-market exchanges. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Ivanka Trump’s biz prospers as politics mixes with business
On April 6, Ivanka Trump‘s company won provisional approval from the Chinese government for three new trademarks, giving it monopoly rights to sell Ivanka brand jewelry, bags and spa services in the world’s second-largest economy. That night, the first daughter and her husband, Jared Kushner, sat next to the president of China and his wife for a steak and Dover sole dinner at Mar-a-Lago. The scenario underscores how difficult it is for the president’s daughter, who has tried to distance herself from the brand that bears her name, to separate business from politics in her new position at the White House. As she crafts a political career from her West Wing office, her brand is flourishing, despite boycotts and several stores limiting her merchandise. U.S. imports, almost all of them from China, shot up an estimated 166 percent last year, while sales hit record levels in 2017. The brand, which Ivanka Trump still owns, says distribution is growing. It has launched new activewear and affordable jewelry lines and is working to expand its global intellectual property footprint. In addition to winning the approvals from China, Ivanka Trump Marks LLC applied for at least nine new trademarks in the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Canada and the U.S. after the election. The commercial currents of the Trump White House are unprecedented in modern American politics, ethics lawyers say. They have created an unfamiliar landscape riven with ethical pitfalls, and forced consumers and retailers to wrestle with the unlikely passions now inspired by Ivanka Trump’s mid-market collection of ruffled blouses, shifts and wedges. Using the prestige of government service to build a brand is not illegal. But criminal conflict-of-interest law prohibits federal officials, like Ivanka Trump and her husband, from participating in government matters that could impact their own financial interest or that of their spouses. Some argue that the more her business broadens its scope, the more it threatens to encroach on the ability of two trusted advisers to deliver credible counsel to the president on core issues like trade, intellectual property and the value of Chinese currency. “Put the business on hold and stop trying to get trademarks while you’re in government,” advises Richard Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush. To address ethical concerns, Ivanka Trump has shifted the brand’s assets to a family-run trust valued at more than $50 million and pledged to recuse herself from issues that present conflicts. She is also no longer running her design business and has given day-to-day responsibility to Abigail Klem, president of the brand. Meanwhile, her husband has taken steps to distance himself from his sprawling New York real estate business, divesting some of his business interests including his stake in a major Fifth Avenue skyscraper. “Ivanka will not weigh in on business strategy, marketing issues or the commercial terms of agreements,” her attorney, Jamie Gorelick, said in a statement. “She has retained authority to direct the trustees to terminate agreements that she determines create a conflict of interest or the appearance of one.” In a recent interview with CBS News, Trump argued that her business would be doing even better if she hadn’t moved to Washington and placed restrictions on her team to ensure that “any growth is done with extreme caution.” China, however, remains a nagging concern. “Ivanka has so many China ties and conflicts, yet she and Jared appear deeply involved in China contacts and policy. I would never have allowed it,” said Norman Eisen, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under Barack Obama. “For their own sake, and the country’s, Ivanka and Jared should consider stepping away from China matters.” Instead, the first daughter and her husband have emerged as prominent interlocutors with China, where they have both had significant business ties. Last year, Kushner pursued hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate investments from Anbang Insurance Group, a financial conglomerate with close ties to the Chinese state. After media reports about the deal, talks were called off. Publicly, Ivanka Trump has taken a gracious, charming approach toward Beijing. During the Mar-a-Lago meetings, her daughter, 5-year-old Arabella, stood in a gilded room and sang a traditional Chinese song, in Mandarin, for China’s president, Xi Jinping. The video, which was lavishly praised by Chinese state media, played over 2.2 million times on China’s popular news portal qq.com. The week of the summit, 3.4 tons of Ivanka Trump handbags, wallets and blouses arrived in the U.S. from Hong Kong and Shanghai. U.S. imports of her merchandise grew an estimated 40 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to Panjiva Inc., which maintains and analyzes global shipping records. Painter, the former Bush administration lawyer, recommended full recusal from issues related to trade with China. That is likely to be difficult because trade is so deeply embedded in the US-China relationship and has been linked with other matters, like North Korea. “The danger is that with any discussion with the Chinese, one party or the other may try to bring up trade,” he said. “That’s a slippery slope that may require her or Jared to step out of the room.” Gorelick, Ivanka Trump’s attorney, said that she and her husband would steer clear of specific areas that could impact her business, or be seen as conflicts of interest, but are under no legal obligation to step back from huge swaths of policy, like trade with China. Under the rules, Trump would recuse herself from conversations about duties on clothing imported from China, Gorelick said, but not broad foreign policy. “In between, you have to assess it case-by-case,” she said. Trademarks can be signs of corporate ambition, though many countries — such as China, where “trademark squatting” is rampant — also allow for defensive filings to prevent copycats from using a brand. Trademarks pose ethical, and possibly legal, implications for government employees because they are granted by foreign states and confer the monopoly right to sell branded products in a particular country
