Having Ivanka Trump Sitting at the G-20 Negotiation Table Between British Prime Minister Theresa May and Chinese President Xi Jinping was wrong, wrong, wrong.

When U.S. President Donald Trump was at the G-20 summit in Germany, he had his daughter Ivanka sit in for him at the negotiating table. Can you imagine the outrage if any world leader from the other countries in the G-20 got up from the table to be replaced by their son or daughter? This is not done. At a minimum, this sends confusing messages to other world leaders about who is in power in the country. Having Ivanka Trump sitting between British Prime Minister Theresa May and Chinese President Xi Jinping was wrong, wrong, wrong. The correct protocol would have been to have the U.S. Secretary of State take his place at the negotiating table, not his daughter.

Or he could have stayed at the negotiating table, as the other world leaders did.

It was also wrong of Donald Trump to refer to Xi Jinping as the President of Taiwan. This was a great embarrassment for the United States and for the People's Republic of China.

As for the summit itself, a headline from the front page of The Washington Post from July 9, 2017 captures it best: Summit Exposes Trump's Isolation -- Leaders Express Anxiety at G-20 -- Defiance of Climate Pact Threatens Global Alliances.

(mew)