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Ivanka Trump to lead U.S. delegation at Olympics closing ceremony

By Danielle Haynes
Ivanka Trump will head up the presidential delegation attending the closing ceremony at the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea. Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI
Ivanka Trump will head up the presidential delegation attending the closing ceremony at the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea. Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Presidential adviser Ivanka Trump is expected to head up the U.S. presidential delegation attending the closing ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, this weekend, the White House announced Wednesday.

Ivanka Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump, said she wants to focus more on U.S. athletes participating in the Games than on North Korea while there, senior White House officials told reporters.

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"I am honored to lead the U.S. delegation to the closing ceremonies of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics," Ivanka Trump said. "We look forward to congratulating Team USA and celebrating all that our athletes have achieved. Their talent, drive, grit and spirit embodies American excellence, and inspire us all."

Joining the presidential daughter will be Rep. James Risch, R-Idaho; White House press secretary Sarah Sanders; Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander of U.N. Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea; Marc Knapper, interim charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul; and Sgt. Shauna Rohbock, member of the U.S. Army National Guard, former Winter Olympian in the bobsled and current Team USA coach.

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The group was scheduled to depart the United States on Thursday and attend Olympic events Saturday and Sunday. Ivanka Trump was scheduled to have dinner with South Korean President Moon Jae-in after she arrives Friday.

Vice President Mike Pence led the U.S. presidential delegation at the Games' opening ceremonies earlier this month and avoided meeting with the North Korean delegation while there. He did, however, meet with defectors from North Korea along with the father of Otto Warmbier, an American who died after his release from North Korean captivity last year.

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