When Justin Trudeau Took Ivanka Trump To A Broadway Show On Welcoming Foreigners
Image by Getty
By Talya Zax March 16, 2017
Ivanka Trump accompanied Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to the Broadway musical “Come From Away.”
The musical tells the story of a small Newfoundland town that played host to over 6,000 stranded air travelers when American air space was closed during and following the 9/11 attacks. It’s a depiction of Canadian and American solidarity, a natural choice for Trump and Trudeau, but, more pointedly, a celebration of what it means to welcome strangers.
Trump admin on Broadway: @IvankaTrump is here at @wecomefromaway with @nikkihaley. pic.twitter.com/2Hj5qBDIXt
— Michael Paulson (@MichaelPaulson) March 16, 2017
Trump, who has been a powerful surrogate for her father, has yet to speak out on either iteration of his controversial travel ban, which in its current form targets residents of six Muslim-majority countries, or the aggressive deportations of illegal immigrants that his administration has overseen.
After President Trump signed the first version of the travel ban, Trudeau tweeted that Canada would open its borders for refugees turned away by the United States. (Trudeau’s proclamation, it should be noted, was somewhat at odds with a newly adopted Canadian policy reducing the number of applications for private sponsorship of Syrian and Iraqi refugees accepted annually to 1,000, a significant reduction from the almost 14,000 accepted in 2016.)
As The New York Times’s Michael Paulson reported, New York’s Canadian consulate general hosted over 600 guests at Wednesday evening’s performance of “Come From Away.” Speaking to the audience before the show, Trudeau lauded the show’s narrative and steered clear of discussing policy.
Trump and Trudeau had previously caught media attention for their meeting at a February White House roundtable on women in the workforce. After that encounter, internet observers commented on photos of the duo showed that Trump, who greeted the prime minister enthusiastically, might not be immune to Trudeau’s much-ballyhooed charm.
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