So much for being seated next to the US Vice-President

Audrey Young writes:

For several days her officials had been telling New Zealand media that she would be sitting next to Pence at his request.

She began answering questions about it in Cairns, on the way to Singapore for the East Asia Summit. It was considered a diplomatic coup to get several hours of quality time with such a prominent figure in the Trump Administration.

She continued to answer questions about it when she arrived, in terms of what issues she would expect to raise with him during the dinner.

At no point did she say she would be sitting near him, not next to him. But when it became clear someone had mucked up, and she was sitting with Mrs Pence, not Mr Pence, Ardern insisted that that had been the plan all along.

Oh this is hilarious. For days they boasted and spun this as a huge achievement – Jacinda had been personally selected to sit next to the Vice-President of the United States.

But the reality was that actually she was not being seated next to the VP. Not next to any head of state at all. She was next to the wife of the VP. Her several hours of quality time was actually a couple of minutes. Rather than being the top of the pecking order, more down the bottom. Which reflects the fact we have been totally unsuccessful in getting an exemption to the steel tariffs.

It meant treating the news media as though it had been at fault in misinterpreting the dinner invitation to sit next to Mr Pence as an invitation to sit next to Mr Pence.

The old blame the media because their spin was inaccurate.