Hardly a day goes by without Jared Kushner being anointed with a new role in the Trump administration. Is Kushner, Trump’s Kissinger? A man of such genius that he inspires in this president so much confidence that whenever Trump asks himself, who’s the most gifted individual in whose hands I can place this awesome challenge? the answer is always Kushner?
…reforming veterans' care, combatting opioid abuse; and overhauling the federal bureaucracy. 2/2
— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) April 3, 2017
BREAKING: Jared Kushner is in Iraq right now, traveling with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dunford, senior White House official tells me.
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) April 3, 2017
Jared Kushner is President Trump's son-in-law — but he's also been appointed to overhaul the whole federal government. pic.twitter.com/hXkRZFaMEa
— AJ+ (@ajplus) April 2, 2017
My hunch — nothing more than that — is that the reason Kushner keeps on getting new roles has nothing to do with his abilities and everything to do with Trump’s relationship with his own daughter Ivanka.
In spite of Trump’s repeated indications of being sexually attracted to Ivanka, the man who has lived his whole life with the expectation that he can grab whatever he wants, was in this instance forced to rein in his own desires. (I am willing to assume he has successfully done that primarily because I see no indications that Ivanka feels the need to maintain a safe distance from her father.)
At the same time, given Trump’s grandiosity, it’s hard to believe that he truly believes that Kushner or any other man would really be good enough for his daughter.
So perhaps the reason Trump keeps on giving Kushner new roles is because he wants Kushner to fail.
Does Kushner look like a man brimming with such immeasurable confidence that he can conquer anything?
Not really.
More like a timid young man who’s afraid of saying “no” to his tyrannical father-in-law.
Footnote (update): However Trump views Kushner, it is, let’s say strange, that the White House would tell the world (and that includes ISIS) that the Senior Advisor to the President and Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are on board an aircraft that’s shortly going to land in Iraq.
The Washington Post reports:
Colin Kahl, a senior administration official under former president Barack Obama, called the Trump administration’s move to release information about the trip ahead of Dunford and Kushner arriving in Iraq very unusual.
“Given how dangerous Iraq is, and the likelihood that senior U.S. officials could be targeted, the Obama administration always waited to announce any high-level visit until the official was on the ground,” Kahl said. “Political imperatives may incline some to advertise these trips — but in life-and-death situations, safety of our officials comes first.”
