Trevor Noah accuses Ivanka Trump of being a 'liar' after accepting White House advisor role

'Remember how Donald Trump and Ivanka promised they wouldn’t turn the White House into a mom and pop store?' says Daily Show host

Maya Oppenheim
Friday 31 March 2017 16:33 BST
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Trevor Noah calls Ivanka Trump a liar

Trevor Noah has launched a scathing attack on Ivanka Trump's decision to accept a role as her father's advisor and labelled the first daughter a "liar".

Ms Trump, President Donald Trump’s second child who is said to be his “favourite”, has been appointed as an official government employee and will join her husband, Jared Kushner, who also serves as an unpaid White House advisor to her father.

The comedian, who hosts The Daily Show, alerted viewer’s attention to the fact Ms Trump claimed she would not be joining her father’s team after the election.

After the first daughter was directly asked whether she would be joining the Trump administration during an appearance on 60 Minutes last November, she said: “No, I’m going to be a daughter”.

“And a liar,” Noah chipped in on his show on Thursday, mocking Ms Trump’s cordial smile after they showed a clip of the interview.

At the time Ms Trump came under fire for using the appearance to promote a $10,800 diamond bracelet from her fashion line and the company later apologised for promoting the jewellery.

“Look, we all knew that Donald couldn’t stand to be apart from Ivanka,”Noah said on Thursday's show. “In his four-year term, he was eventually going to find some way to bring her in. But two months? I’m shocked - two months in? This guy has the patience of a toddler.”

“Remember how Donald Trump and Ivanka promised they wouldn’t turn the White House into a mom and pop store? Yeah, no nepotism, remember that? Well, clearly, they don’t.”

After criticism from ethics experts that occupying a voluntary role would allow Ms Trump to eschew some of the usual rules, this week it was announced she would be appointed as a federal employee instead. Ms Trump, who was regularly brought in during the campaign to make her father more attractive to female voters, already has an office in the West Wing.

Ethics experts have raised alarm bells about the appointment and argue it violates federal nepotism laws. Barack Obama’s White House ethics lawyer, Norman Eisen, has suggested Mr Trump does not believe nepotism rules apply to his presidency.

The lawyer said both the Obama and George W Bush administrations included the White House in its interpretation of the 1967 federal nepotism law that says no public official, from the President stretching down to a low-level manager at a federal agency, may employ or promote someone who is related to them.

In his opinion, Mr Trump appears to have found a loophole. The law states any appointee found to have violated the law is “not entitled to pay” by the federal government, which appears to provide the opportunity for Mr Trump to employ his daughter and son-in-law, Mr Kushner, who is also an unpaid government employee, to relinquish paychecks while still having a role in the Trump administration.

“I have heard the concerns some have with my advising the president in my personal capacity while voluntarily complying with all ethics rules, and I will instead serve as an unpaid employee in the White House office, subject to all of the same rules as other federal employees,” Ms Trump said in a statement.

“Throughout this process, I have been working closely and in good faith with the White House counsel and my personal counsel to address the unprecedented nature of my role.”

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