Nauert has attacked the press, lied about the US voting against a death penalty resolution protecting LGBT people, and was apparently unaware North Korea “has the bomb.”
President Donald Trump reportedly has offered the position of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations to Heather Nauert, the current, and controversial, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, Fox News reports. Nauert, should she accept and be confirmed by the Senate, would replace outgoing Ambassador and former Governor Nikki Haley.
Nauert’s time at State has been controversial. A Rex Tillerson appointee, Nauert has no actual diplomatic experience, foreign policy experience, or government experience, but she is a former “Fox & Friends” co-host.
Earlier this year Nauert touted America’s “strong relationship with the government of Germany” by citing the invasion of Normandy. The U.S. and Germany were on opposing sides in World War II, as MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow noted:
Nauert last year apparently was unaware that North Korea, as former Obama-era Director of the Office of Government Ethics noted, “has the bomb.”
And in June, Nauert earned a good dose of mockery after trying to attack CNN, President Trump’s favorite media target. She tweeted a photo of the president with a group of children, writing, Hey @cnn where was @Potus today?
Some, including a TIME political correspondent, reminded Nauert that the event was closed to the press, so they couldn’t cover it:
But perhaps her most egregious offense took place last year in October, when Nauert lied about why the United States voted against a United Nations resolution that condemns the use of the death penalty for same-sex relations and other acts.
Nauert told reporters the U.S. voted against the resolution in part because it “called for the abolition of the death penalty altogether.”
That was absolutely false. The State Dept. also refused to respond to NCRM’s inquiry asking for an explanation.
Nauert was brought in under Trump-appointed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and earlier this year was also given the title Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
While some in the Trump administration have praised Nauert’s diligence in juggling two jobs at once, considering she is ill-prepared for either, others elsewhere have been more objective.
“Some foreign policy experts and former State Department officials argue Nauert is ill-prepared to lead US efforts to thwart ISIS propaganda and Russian disinformation, guide state-run media on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, and oversee some 275 US embassies and consulates around the world,” a Business Insider report noted in August. “They say she simply doesn’t have the bandwidth to handle these significant responsibilities on top of her job as spokeswoman.”
Image by US Dept. of State via Flickr