Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, personally assured skittish acquaintances the President-elect didn’t really believe some of the more outrageous claims he was making, according to a new New York magazine profile.
“Back when Trump was spinning birther conspiracy theories, which were lapped up by gullible Republicans, one person who talked to Kushner says he offered assurances that his father-in-law didn’t really believe that stuff,” the report says.
Kushner, a key adviser to Trump, is expected to play an influential role in the new administration and is reportedly taking steps toward preventing conflicts of interest from his own real estate business dealings. It’s unclear whether he and wife Ivanka Trump will hold official positions, but Trump’s team is confident that, at a minimum, the President-elect’s daughter and son-in-law can act as informal advisers once he’s in the White House.
One sign they’re serious: the Trump-Kushner family recently settled on a home in Washington, DC. The President-elect is expected to address his businesses and his family’s participation in his presidency in a news conference this week.
Ivanka Trump’s husband was raised in New Jersey, the son of Charles Kushner, who found success in the residential real estate industry. The elder Kushner went to prison for nearly a year in the early 2000s for criminal tax evasion and witness tampering.
Jared Kushner’s father may have stoked his political interest at a young age — Charles Kushner was a prominent Democratic donor. When then-Vice President Al Gore attended a fundraiser at the family home, 19-year-old Jared introduced the candidate, one attendee told New York magazine.
When his father-in-law announced his presidential bid, Kushner ultimately helped guide the candidate to victory, building a data operation with a tech startup-like feel that influenced the campaign’s decisions from advertising to fundraising to voter targeting.
In a December meeting of business leaders for the Partnership for New York City, Kushner told the crowd he will now take a managerial, not policymaking role, attendees told the magazine. Per the report, Kushner suggested the new administration would take a “rational” position on immigration. He predicted infrastructure investments from roads and bridges to driverless cars, Rice reported.
As Kushner takes a victory lap and prepares for Washington life, his belief in Trump and his message hasn’t faltered.
“People say (Trump) is unhinged,” Kushner told an associate, per the report. “I think he unhinged everyone else.”
