Story highlights A senior Trump administration official dismissed any suggestion that Ivanka's briefly sitting in was improper or unusual

"When other leaders stepped out, their seats were also briefly filled by others," the official added

Hamburg, Germany (CNN) Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump's daughter and one of his top White House aides, briefly took her father's place at a meeting with other world leaders at the G20 summit here in Hamburg on Saturday, causing a stir among Trump critics on social media.

A photo of the first daughter sitting next to Chinese President Xi Jinping, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel was first tweeted by Svetlana Lukash, who identifies herself on Twitter as a G20 Russian sherpa, a title given to people who help international delegations at large summits.

A senior Trump administration official confirmed that Ivanka Trump had stepped in for her father, but dismissed any suggestion it was improper or unusual.

"Ivanka was sitting in the back and then briefly joined the main table when the President had to step out, and the president of the World Bank started talking as the topic involved areas such as African development -- areas that will benefit from the facility just announced by the World Bank," the official said, referencing a initiative Ivanka Trump has spearheaded that looks to fund women entrepreneurs.

"When other leaders stepped out, their seats were also briefly filled by others," the official added.

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