It’s never easy working with family members, especially when that job involves the White House. That’s exactly what Jared Kushner learned when he became a senior adviser to his father-in-law Donald Trump during the four years he was in the Oval Office. Kushner had to figure out a way to keep his sometimes temperamental relative happy, and still get things done for the Trump administration.
Kushner made himself the point person who “others turned to for help in calming down or reasoning” when Donald Trump was having an off day, according to The New York Times. So he devised “a specific mathematical formula” for handling the former president in what was considered a “two to one” ratio of good to bad news. Even if the good news was in “short supply,” Kushner would find a way to turn Donald Trump’s grumpy day around, sometimes even telling him that bad poll numbers could swing in his favor by five points since they likely missed speaking to his voter base.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were reportedly very busy making plans in anticipation of the 2020 election results. https://t.co/MGfdg4eWJ7
— SheKnows (@SheKnows) June 8, 2022
While it sounds like Kushner was wrangling a toddler on most days, it was really about avoiding his father-in-law’s anger after watching the revolving door of senior administration officials. It was a delicate balance because Donald Trump had the country to run, but he was relying on his son-in-law to manage expectations even in the middle of the night. Kushner knew that keeping him placated was the ideal situation and he needed everyone else in the White House on the same page. According to The New York Times, Kushner gave staffer this analogy, “You have to realize you don’t make the waves. He makes the waves. And then you have to do your best to kind of stay on the surfboard.” Of course, even Kushner eventually realized that doing business with his wife’s father was a dead end after he lost the election and refused to concede.
It was why he and wife Ivanka Trump stealthily planned their Florida escape just days after Joe Biden was called as the next president. The gulf between Kushner and Donald Trump only grew from there as the couple did their best to distance themselves from the events of Jan. 6, 2021, but the damage was already done by a tumultuous presidency. It’s a story Kushner is hoping to rewrite when his memoir is released later this summer, but will the public buy what he is selling?
Click here to see Melania’s quotes about Donald Trump, from their marriage to the presidential race.
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