Amid speculation that President Barack Obama will reward major donor Anna Wintour with an ambassadorship, Oscar de la Renta suggested she should not set her sights so low during an interview with Women’s Wear Daily.
But Oscar de la Renta, one of Wintour’s closest friends, said, "When you are editor in chief of an extremely successful magazine, you don’t need an ambassadorship for four years. Ambassadors were great in the 18th century. Today, it’s going to the opening of a cafeteria.
"She should be named Secretary of State. That would be a different story."
Time calls Wintour’s consideration for secretary of state a "long shot,’ citing Wintour’s lack of foreign affairs experience as a major red flag for congressional support.
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Wintour was being considered for the U.K. or France ambassador post.
Obama has nominated 20 of his top fundraisers to ambassador posts since taking office in 2009.
Wintour raised $2.7 million for Obama during the 2012 election cycle. Wintour garnered an additional $40 million for Obama’s reelection campaign through "Runway To Win," an Obama-inspired fashion collection curated by Wintour.
It is unclear if Wintour would be a better secretary of state than U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice.