Trump says Ivanka would be a great replacement for Nikki Haley at the UN; but Ivanka rules herself out
Ivanka Trump's statement came shortly after President Trump suggested that his daughter would be a good fit for the key UN position
President Donald Trump's daughter and senior White House aide, Ivanka Trump, on Tuesday, said that she would not be moving back to New York to take on the US mission to the United Nations after Nikki Haley's shocking announcement from her position as the UN ambassador, reports state. Ivanka's statement came shortly after President Trump suggested that his daughter would be a good fit.
"It is an honor to serve in the White House alongside so many great colleagues and I know that the President will nominate a formidable replacement for Ambassador Haley. That replacement will not be me," Ivanka tweeted.
Trump, before leaving for a campaign rally in Iowa on Tuesday, said that his daughter would make an "incredible" UN ambassador: "I've heard how good would Ivanka be. Ivanka would be dynamite, but I would be accused of nepotism if you can believe it, right"
The president, praising his daughter repeatedly, however, also expressed concerns about the criticism he would face if he appointed her as his top diplomat to the UN.
"I think Ivanka would be incredible, but I'm not sure I'd use her because I'd be accused of nepotism even though I'm not sure there's anyone more competent in the world, but that's OK. But we are looking at numerous people. It is interesting," Trump said, according to the Daily Mail.
Shortly after making the statement, the president said that he is considering his daughter's close friend and his former deputy national security adviser Dina Powell for the key position.
"Dina is certainly a person I would consider and she is under consideration," Trump said. "We actually have many names" for the job, he added.
The Republican said that the names he is considering for the job, however, do not include his son-in-law and Senior White House aide Jared Kushner.
"He's very talented, but no I haven't only because I know you people. What would you do if I said that?" Trump said while turning to a CNN reporter and added: "What would they do? Jared or Ivanka. How do you feel about Ivanka? I think CNN would support her."
As Haley announced that she will be leaving her position at the UN by the end of the year, the president said that he is likely to name her successor by the end of the month: "Within the next two or three weeks, maybe sooner."
Powell, who left Goldman Sachs to join the Trump administration at the beginning of the president's term, worked with Ivanka Trump on women's economic empowerment issues. Powell later became deputy national security adviser before she left the White House earlier this year.
