Trump Says He Considered Ivanka for World Bank: She’s ‘Good With Numbers’
“I even thought of Ivanka for the World Bank,” Trump told The Atlantic magazine in an interview.
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump considered nominating his daughter Ivanka Trump for a variety of jobs including one at the World Bank, according to a new interview.
“I even thought of Ivanka for the World Bank,” Trump told The Atlantic magazine in an interview. “She would’ve been great at that because she’s very good with numbers.”
Trump in the interview said that he has thought of his daughter, who works in the White House as an assistant to the president, for several different positions, including United Nations ambassador, but has been dissuaded because of the appearance of nepotism, he said in the interview.
“She would’ve been great at the United Nations, as an example,” Trump said, adding that his oldest daughter is “a natural diplomat.”
If he did nominate her, Trump said, “they’d say nepotism, when it would’ve had nothing to do with nepotism. But she would’ve been incredible.”
New World Bank President David Malpass, who was nominated by Trump in February, is a loyal supporter who had been sharply critical of China and called for a shakeup of the global economic order. No other countries proposed any candidates to challenge Malpass, making his selection by the board all but assured.
Malpass, who was approved last week as chief of the development lender, has put an emphasis on worldwide economic growth and said he sees no need for a restructuring there.
The position of World Bank president has historically gone to an American, while a European has led its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund. Some observers have called for the bank to break with tradition and appoint a non-American in recognition of the growing clout of emerging markets such as China and India, and the lender’s focus on development.
The White House previously said Ivanka Trump was involved in the selection process for the post, but wasn’t a contender for the job.
She has been involved in World Bank initiatives on women’s economic development and has worked closely with the bank’s leadership over the past two years, which is why she worked on the nomination, spokeswoman Jessica Ditto said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Terrence Dopp in Washington at tdopp@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Shepard at mshepard7@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman, Brendan Murray
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