Trump wanted daughter to take top World Bank job

President said Ivanka, 37, should lead international financial body as she is ‘very good with numbers’

DONALD TRUMP thought of nominating his daughter Ivanka to head up the World Bank, saying that she was “very good with numbers”.

The US president also said that he believed she would have been “great” at the United Nations, but did not propose her for a role to avoid accusations of nepotism.

Mr Trump even talked up the prospect of the 37-year-old one day running for the White House herself, saying she would be “very hard to beat”.

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides billions of pounds worth of loans for capital projects. It is made up of 189 member countries.

The comments came as Mr Trump talked for a reported 20 minutes with The Atlantic magazine as part of a profile piece about Ivanka.

Both his willingness to talk and the roles he thought she could fulfil reflect the high esteem in which he holds his daughter.

“She’s got a great calmness … I’ve seen her under tremendous stress and pressure,” Mr Trump is quoted as saying. “She reacts very well – that’s usually a genetic thing, but it’s one of those things, nevertheless.”

He added: “She’s got a tremendous presence when she walks into the room.”

Ms Trump is the second child from her father’s first marriage to Ivana Trump. She ran a multimillion-dollar lifestyle brand before Mr Trump ran for the presidency.

Since he won office in November 2016 she has joined his side as a White House adviser along with her husband, Jared Kushner.

The pair have at times been seen as moderating forces on Mr Trump, opposing pulling out of the Paris climate change accord and lobbying for an increase in child tax credit.

Steve Bannon, the former White House chief of staff and a Right-wing strategist, dubbed the pair “Javanka” and grew infuriated with their interventions before he departed.

Ms Trump’s influence on her father has long been documented in media reports with books about his White House portraying her as a critical member of the Trump inner circle.

Speaking to The Atlantic, Mr Trump confirmed reports from January that he had considered Ivanka for the vacant position of World Bank president.

“She’s a natural diplomat. She would’ve been great at the United Nations, as an example,” Mr Trump said.

Asked why he did not propose her for a UN role, Mr Trump said: “If I did, they’d say nepotism, when it would’ve had nothing to do with nepotism. But she would’ve been incredible.”

He then said: “I even thought of Ivanka for the World Bank … She would’ve been great at that because she’s very good with numbers.”