Ex-GOP commentator tells Ivanka Trump to 'pay her dues' before dressing up and pretending to be a diplomat

On Monday's edition of CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," former White House official David Gergen sharply criticized Ivanka Trump for trying to butt into conversations with foreign diplomats.

"To back up for a minute, this country very much needs more women in high-level diplomacy jobs," said Gergen, who served under three Republican presidents as well as Bill Clinton, "and we've had four so far: Condi Rice and Susan Rice and Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright. They all earned their way to the top, they all earned their way to the table. Three of them have PhDs, one Yale Law. They all worked for years in foreign policy and they were professionals by the time they began to run high-level diplomacy."

"Ivanka Trump simply hasn't paid her dues," said Gergen. "She's there as a result of nepotism on the part of the president. It would be fine if she went, if her — if Melania is not going, the First Lady is not going, Ivanka went in her place, that would be fine. But to go and be treated like a high-level professional really insults the foreign service. It insults what they do in life."

"And it sends a message to the other heads in state, that this White House is playing by different rules that nobody seems to understand but our — you know, not treated — not respected by others," said Gergen. "They're keeping silent about it, but they don't respect it."

Watch below: