French government downplays intent in viral video that led to Ivanka Trump mockery

A video clip from the G-20 summit that led to widespread internet mockery of Ivanka Trump has the French government, which released the clip, taking an apologetic tone, Politico reported.

Trump was seen in the clip speaking with a group of world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Christine Lagarde (managing director of the International Monetary Fund) and British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Reaction to the clip focused on the perceived reaction of the leaders to Trump's input into their conversation. Their facial expressions have been interpreted to portray annoyance or dismissiveness toward her. Here's the clip:

The French government, according to an official, didn't realize the potential negative framing of the clip until it was too late. From Politico:

This particular one, the official said, "took place in the leaders' lounge right before the sessions on gender equality of which Ivanka was one of the keynote speakers, so it wasn't anything more than a moment of exchange like there were 100 more [of] with other leaders."

The official noted, however, that the clip was released at a time of "a larger narrative in the U.S. about Ivanka's diplomatic role and that goes beyond us, of course," but that it wasn't the French government's intention to feed into that narrative.

"We didn't anticipate the reaction, and once again, we are not responsible for the use made of the clip," the official said.

Despite being an adviser to the president, some observers were critical of her prominent role in the G-20 summit. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) took one of the more high profile shots at the president's daughter on Twitter.

"It may be shocking to some, but being someone's daughter actually isn't a career qualification," Ocasio-Cortez wrote. "It hurts our diplomatic standing when the President phones it in & the world moves on."