“Neither Ivanka nor any other Trump will have control over how the money is spent or used.”
Ivanka Trump recently helped secure a $100 million dollar donation to a fund that will be used to promote women’s rights around the world. The funding came from two questionable sources, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, both of which have poor track records concerning women’s rights. Immediately, critics blasted the Trump family and Donald Trump in particular, noting that POTUS had previously slammed the Clinton Foundation for accepting donations from Saudi Arabia and other nations. There’s one little problem: the two situations are not even remotely similar.
Most importantly, the money that Ivanka Trump apparently secured will be used by the World Bank, an organization that is completely separate and independent of the United States government. Neither Ivanka nor any other Trump will have control over how the money is spent or used. Instead, the fund will be used by the World Bank itself to promote women’s rights around the world. Money donated to the Clintons, on the other hand, was donated to a private charity under their control where money could be spent at their discretion.
World Bank President Jim Young Kim has lauded both the donation and Mrs. Trump’s efforts, stating:
“We thought it was a fantastic idea. But we had no idea how quickly this would build. This is really a stunning achievement. I’ve never seen anything come together so quickly, and I really have to say that Ivanka’s leadership has been tremendous.”
The Fund appears to be the brainchild of Ivanka, and the World Bank is set to make an official announcement come July.
Is this a quid pro quo, in other words a favor made in order to gain something in return? Probably. Such is the realm of international diplomacy. However, with the money not going to the Trump family or any organization that they control, the leverage will be minimal at best.
The money donated by various regimes and questionable funders to the Clinton Foundation, on the other hand, was put directly under the Clinton family’s control. It appears that Saudi Arabia, for example, gave somewhere between $10 to $25 million dollars to the Clinton Foundation, with much of it coming back in the 90’s as Bill Clinton was leaving the White House and in search of funding for his Presidential library.
The only other foreign government to provide so much funding has been Norway. The government of Kuwait has also donated millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation. Individual donors from Saudi Arabia, such as Sheikh Mohammed H. al-Amoudi and Nasser al-Rashid, have also donated millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation.
Importantly, money that is donated to the Clinton Foundation is directly under the control of the Clinton family. They can spend it to pursue their own projects, and if they so desire, they could pay themselves salaries, fund travel, and cover other expenses. This isn’t to say the Clintons are abusing their Foundation, but donating money directly to a family controlled non-profit is a far cry from donating to a World Bank fund at the behest of Ivanka Trump.
I’ll be blunt: I have frequently criticized the Trump administration for what I have seen as hypocrisy. This particular instance, however, doesn’t appear to be such a case. If anyone is going to turn down the funds it should be the World Bank, and they’d have the right and some moral impetus to do so. Saudi Arabia’s stance on women’s rights in particular is atrocious.
Perhaps there are genuine conflicts of interest with president Trump’s vast business holdings and other interests around the globe. If so, these issues should be brought to light. However, the donations made by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to the World Bank don’t appear to present any major issues.