Fury as Ivanka Trump and her husband join dad Donald for first meeting with Japanese Prime Minister
FURIOUS social media users have slammed Donald Trump after pictures emerged of his daughter Ivanka attending the President Elect's first meeting with the Japanese government.
Twitter users voiced their outrage after Ivanka - who has no security clearance or political experience - attended the important meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Actor George Takei, who played Mr Sulu in Star Trek, fumed: "Ivanka Trump has no business being in the room when Trump met with Prime Minister Abe. She's family, not foreign advisor."
Matt Murphy seconded the sentiment, saying: "Ivanka Trump has no business sitting in on meetings with foreign leaders. What an absolute FU to our Democracy and country."
Judd Legum described Ivanka's presence at the meeting as "a middle finger to democracy".
Trump critic Keith Olberman slammed the President-elect in a strongly-worded tweet. He said: "Attention @realDonaldTrump Nobody else in your family was "elected." Get your daughter THE F*** OUT OF STATE MEETINGS."
Ivanka is set to take control of Trump's business when he becomes President, in a move of blind trust in his daughter.
Many have voiced concerns over the role Trump's family members are playing in the forming administration.
It comes as the President-elect continues to refuse media access to early meetings.
A source told the MailOnline Ivanka was merely stopping by when the photo was taken, but adds Trump encourages his children's involvement in his presidency.
They said: "The President-elect has always encouraged Ivanka and his children to attend meetings with him. This was informal, but the family obviously needs to adjust to the new realities and they will."
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The photo, which shows Ivanka sat on a chair opposite the Japanese head of state, was handed to the media by Trump's team after the meeting.
As members of the press were not allowed to attend it is unclear how long Ivanka and her husband Jared were there for.
While the couple are part of Trump's transition team, they have no foreign policy experience and have not been offered roles in his administration.
General Michael Flynn, who has been offered the position of national security adviser, also attended the meeting.
The fresh controversy comes after a number of shops dropped Ivanka Trump’s fashion brand after intense pressure from an anti-Trump boycott.
The GrabYourWallet campaign was started in the US by Sharon Coulter on October 11, in protest against the new president’s comments about women.
Named in reference to Donald Trump’s infamous “grab them by the p****” comment, the movement calls for people to shun businesses and brands associated with the president-elect and his family.
Ivanka Trump – whose fashion brand is valued at around $100million (£81million) – has become one of the campaign’s targets after supporting her father during his election drive.
And after Trump’s shock election victory last week, the boycott is now beginning to gain traction.
The President-elect‘s eldest daughter was an ever-present sight at her father’s side as he campaigned against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
But she has since insisted she will not be pulling the strings when he takes office full time.
Speaking alongside her family on CBS' 60 Minutes' Show, the former model said: "I'm going to be a daughter.
"But I've said throughout the campaign that I am very passionate about certain issues. And that I want to fight for them.
"Wage equality, childcare. These are things that are very important for me.
"So you know there are a lot of things that I feel deeply, strongly about. But not in a formal administrative capacity."
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