German minister just said what no foreign politician dares to about Ivanka Trump

[kpete]

German foreign minister goes beyond other US allies to decry 'nepotism' of Ivanka Trump role
'It always bothers me when members of a family, who have never been elected, show up suddenly as official state representatives', says Mr Gabrie

Speaking to the German media group Funke, Mr Gabriel described Ivanka’s advisory role to President Donald Trump, her father, as “nepotism”, The Local reports.

He said: "For me there are things that remain strange, like for example the visit of his daughter to Germany which was treated almost like a world event, while the mix of politics with family and business reminds us instead of nepotism and would be unimaginable here."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/german-foreign-minister-nepotism-ivanka-trump-role-white-house-donald-trump-a7710161.html

[malaise]

1. Off to the greatest page

for thee

[TexasProgresive]

2. It was "unimaginable" just 101 days ago in the U.S.A.

[Sunlei]

7. no Republicans have been smearing America with their presidents crap for almost two years now.

[Stonepounder]

14. My thought exactly, Texas,

It is unimaginable here - until is isn't.

[Eliot Rosewater]

26. Half of America would be OK with exterminating the other half, at this point.

I dont see how we fix this, I really dont, they are beyond help.

To clarify, it is the deplorables, tparty, etc who want to eliminate the other half, and dont think for one minute they are beyond the unthinkable.

[That Guy 888]

38. I always thought that the one's that scream the loudest about FEMA death camps

...would love being concentration camp guards especially if it was non-whites, Muslims, lbgtq people, leftist and Democrats that they were killing.

[Alice11111]

48. Afraid you are correct. We are in a non violent civil war.

[onit2day]

32. our press refuses to point out the obvious

Untrained and unqualified except for being related to the president...like anyone can be a state advisor on foreign affairs. I share his outrage. America was never like this before Trump.

[calimary]

44. Welcome to DU, onit2day!

The media is extraordinarily timid about this stuff. Only lately have they gone as far as calling a lie a lie.

I remember being infuriated by a headline in one of the major papers during bush/cheney, regarding the lies about the Iraq war: "Prevaricating President?" OHFORCRYINGOUTLOUD!!! Just say he's lying, people. Because that's what he's doing! That's almost all bush/cheney did, period! But heavens-to-pearl-clutching, we simply CAN'T say the president lies! Well, that particular "L-word" has finally been liberated, now in the trump era. It is not unheard of to read and hear talking heads come flat out and say trump lies. It's a widely-acknowledged and by now normalized thing.

[rpannier]

42. If Obama had appointed a 16th cosuin 11 times removed to help with White House maintenance

on every 11th Tuesday, the Republicans would have begun impeachment hearings

[PearliePoo2]

3. Falls into the "No Shit, Sherlock!" category. nt.

K&R

[Sunlei]

4. Here Mr. Trump, everyone knows you need help with new words.

nep·o·tism


/ˈnepəˌtizəm/


noun

noun: nepotism




the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.

synonyms: favoritism, preferential treatment, the old boy network, looking after one's own, bias, partiality, partisanship
"hiring my daughter was not nepotism—it was just good business"

[bleedingulcers]

5. I think your last sentence needs some correction....

"hiring my daughter was not good business - it was just nepotism"

there, better!

[WhiteTara]

27. welcome to DU!

and that was a good correction!

[calimary]

46. Welcome to DU, bleedingulcers!

I find the whole Ivanka misadventure to be galling as all-get-out. What if Chelsea was sashaying around in the West Wing and touring internationally as her father's surrogate? If this was flipped, the republi-CONS would be fighting over who'd be first to finish erecting the gallows for both her and her mother, both. I remember when the opposition never stopped whining and kvetching and complaining and criticizing when Hillary actually worked in the West Wing as then-President Bill Clinton acted on a half-joking campaign promise that if America elected him, it'd be "buy one, get one free" because he was a package deal with his illustrious, brilliant, accomplished, and ultra-competent wife. They raised nonstop hell.

As to little Princess Ivanka... I wrote an ode to her awhile back, examining the apple that did not fall far from the tree, and how she was busy being as mercenary about her new political position as her father is.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=8931245

As for her brothers... I'm not surprised people have taken to referring to them as Uday and Qusay, riffing off of Saddam Hussein's two vile sons. Or, as those notorious two were also known: Ooky and Kooky. I've enjoyed doing that, also. Fitting nicknames for dear little Donald-the-rhino-killer Jr. and his little sidekick Eric.

[2naSalit]

6. K&R

[Grins]

8. "...would be unimaginable here."

"..the mix of politics with family and business reminds us instead of nepotism and would be unimaginable here."

Kind of unimaginable here, too, Mr. Funke.

[DetlefK]

10. "Funke" is the press-agency he was talking to. He is Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel.

[JudyM]

11. Making America Great Again

[L. Coyote]

9. It is the measure of Republican corruption.

[JudyM]

12. EXCELLENT!

Thanks for posting this great cartoon.

[Alice11111]

49. Thanks, L. Coyote

[smirkymonkey]

13. Thank you Mr. Gabriel!

For stating the truth and highlighting the ridiculousness of the situation. It's reassuring to know that some of us aren't the only ones that find this completely unacceptable.

[dalton99a]

15. It is a textbook example of nepotism

[iluvtennis]

20. And in violation of the Emoluments clauses...but rethugs don't give a sh*t.

[niyad]

16. VIELEN, VIELEN DANK, Herr Gabriel!!!

[keithbvadu2]

17. Ivanka's only qualification is her intimacy with Daddy.

Ivanka's only qualification is her intimacy with Daddy.

None of the other republicans would have hired her.

[MyOwnPeace]

28. "None of the other republicans would have hired her."

Oh, come on, I bet they would have.
Hey, we're talking "Rebublicans!"

[burrowowl]

41. Question

Has he had sex with her? And if he did the Deplorables would say: "That's OK".

[keithbvadu2]

45. Friendship hug for wife, sexually intimate hug for daughter

Friendship hug for wife, sexually intimate hug for daughter

Body Language Expert Weighs In on Donald Trump’s Awkward RNC Stage Hugs With Melania and Ivanka

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/donald-trump-awkwardly-hugs-melania-ivanka-expert-weighs-in-w430543

[yellowcanine]

18. IOKIYT!

[Freethinker65]

19. For the record, Mr. Gabriel, it bothers many of us Americans too

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

21. Your headlined is a bit off

Isn't a German minister a foreign politician? Do you perhaps mean "Just said what no American politician dares to"?

[samnsara]

22. cuz now germany is GREATER than america.. in fact EVERYONE is!

[jaxind]

23. Totally agree, but...

Totally agree, but then why did your chancellor, Merkel, invite her???

[Doreen]

24. From what I hear from a German is that she actually was not officially

invited.

[OrwellwasRight]

25. Trump is not the first President to give a blood or marriage relative

an important job in the administration. Dems have done it too. Nepotism sucks, but I'm not sure it is our strongest argument against Trump. He sucks in many other ways as well.

[maxrandb]

37. Please provide anything... ANYTHING a Democratic president

Did that is even fucking close to your "both sides do it" statement.

You may come up with the only thing I can remember... that being JFK monimating his brother as AG.

But let's not forget. RFK was a prosecuting attorney and a Senator. RFK was also subject to Senate confirmation and in depth hearings under oath.

RFK also was not in business with the President working trademark deals and branding deals that would benefit his company.

This both sides do it horseshit is simply that. Horseshit

[LiberalBrooke]

40. Unqualified

Absolutely! She has no qualifications whatsoever for any post. Ivanka is just a surgically enhanced female don the con has the hots for.

[lastlib]

43. I have heard repugs yell about Bill Clinton......

appointing Hillary to chair his health-care reform initiative. But Hillary was an experienced attorney, and a well-qualified policy "wonk" (for lack of a better term off the top of my head), not just Daddy's eye-candy. It's nothing comparable to Uday and Qusay Trump and Ivanka and Jared grifting for profit with Daddy Tinyhands in the chair as pResiDunce. You are right, it's horseshit. And what Tinyhands is doing is nepotism--ANY way you slice it.

[tblue37]

47. And the anti-nepotism law was instituted *after* RFK was attorney general. nt

[Alice11111]

50. Glad you pointed that out. It was such an embarrassment to see her sitting by Christine La Guarde.

She has no background in economics, history, or government. She was asked, probably rhetorically, why are you here, to represent your business.

[OrwellwasRight]

52. JFK-RFK yes.

Bill Clinton putting HRC in charge of health reform is a more compelling example. All I am saying is that Trump has done a lot worse things. Like putting demonstrated racist and anti-Semite Bannon in the White House--and he is no relation at all. I think we should stick to things that Republicans can't say, "well, Clinton did it too." Those don't feel very compelling except in the "I don't care about winning, I just want to feel righteous anger" mode.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

29. Ouch!

That's going to leave a mark

[Alt-Orange]

36. Just wanted to say...

I LOVE the Hulk and Joe Biden GIFS in your signature line.

[ailsagirl]

30. She said it!!

[ProudLib72]

31. More need to say it

Hopefully, this opens the door for others to say it.

[barbtries]

33. it should be unimaginable here as well.

it's not right.

[suffragette]

34. K&R

[ProudProgressiveNow]

35. K&R nt

[Sculpin Beauregard]

39. Good!! Glad he spoke up! He's right, it's unacceptable.

[Alice11111]

51. I heard, tv, her face just showed up on a billboard in Manila promoting Trump Tower there,& DT

Invites Dictator and admitted murderer Deutete to come to the WH. Looks like he may have turned DT down.