Ivanka Trump receives backlash as UAE trip coincides with Trump International Golf Club Dubai anniversary

Ivanka Trump is one of the high-profile female personalities that attended the Global Women’s Forum Dubai 2020 held on February 16 to 17, 2020. However, critics were quick to point out that might have more than just women’s welfare in mind on this UAE trip.

In fact, the former head of the United States Office of Government Ethics mocked Ivanka Trump by saying that her UAE visit was actually a “corporate trip” funded by taxpayer money, Independent reported. The senior adviser to President Donald Trump arrived in Dubai just days ahead of the third anniversary of the Trump International Golf Club Dubai.

During the trip, Ivanka Trump met with city officials. She was also seen posing for photo ops and videos of her strolling through Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, activities that were all taxpayer-funded according to the report.

“How convenient,” former ethics chief Walter Shaub wrote on Twitter. “It was nice of you taxpayers to sponsor her corporate trip. It was nice of you to fund the propaganda video VOA disseminated too. Yer the best.”

It was Center for Responsive Politics’ Anna Massoglia who first pointed out that Ivanka Trump’s Dubai trip coincided with the Trump International Golf Club Dubai anniversary. She also pointed out that the taxpayer’s money was used to cover Secret Service expenses for Eric, Donald Jr., and Ivanka.

“Trump International Golf Club in Dubai is promoting its anniversary celebration on Instagram during @IvankaTrump's United Arab Emirates trip. Eric & Don Jr.'s travel for its opening weeks after Trump's inauguration cost US taxpayers $250k on Secret Service http://crp.org/trfi,” Massoglia posted on Twitter.

Some netizens quickly expressed their displeasure over Ivanka Trump’s travel arrangements. “She only travels to places she has business interests,” one posted on Twitter, as reported by Express. “These are nothing more than pathetically paid for by taxpayer dollars photo ops for Ivanka,” another critic added.

But Ivanka Trump also has her supporters defending her actions on social media. “Unqualified?! Who else has spearheaded these initiatives?” one of her supporters challenged those who called her unqualified for the task.

“To all the haters, what could possibly be bad about empowering women in the world?” a Twitter user posted. Another one also urged people to just “support women that actually help others” instead of criticizing them.