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A great discussion with two world leaders about the importance of women having a seat at the table! 🇺🇸🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/AtiSiOoho0 — Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) February 13, 2017

It’s hard to imagine that someone in her position could fail to see the irony of tweeting such a presumptuous photo, as she did, while pontificating about the “importance of women having a seat at the table!” Most women agree that seats of power must first be earned. You can’t just waltz in and say, “Hey, I bet I’d look cute in that chair!” And the president’s chair, in particular, was central to the bloody battle that Hillary Clinton so recently fought and lost. Even the twittersphere was virtually unanimous that the seat-warming chicanery was both inappropriate and unbecoming.

These days it seems that overexposure to Ivanka is an inevitable side effect of underexposure to Melania. Central to the confusion is whether the daughter’s constant presence marginalizes the wife. Or, is it a case that if Ivanka weren’t on standby there would be a fashion-model-sized hole in all the photos where a First Lady is supposed to be?

No one envies Melania having to fill Michelle Obama’s shoes — at least some of her reticence is justified. From the now-famous White House vegetable garden to Girl Guides camping on the lawn to viral talk-show videos, Michelle Obama set a high watermark in so many areas: mother, wife, style icon, role model to women around the world. She graced the cover of Vogue magazine an unprecedented three times.

But Mrs. Trump is not the first FLOTUS to have a tough act to follow. Such was the fate of Claudia Alta Johnson, better known as “Lady Bird” who trailed “The First Lady of Class” Jacqueline Kennedy.