Even though he announced in November that he plans to seek the 2024 GOP presidential nomination yet again, two of ex-president Donald Trump’s closest advisers and confidants, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, made it clear they won’t be part of the next campaign.
What exactly changed for Jared and Ivanka? Their cousin, Mary Trump, thinks she knows exactly why the two are backing away from the failed, one-term, twice-impeached former president.
Speaking with Ali Velshi of MSNBC, Mary Trump noted that the two can sense that Donald is “losing value.”
“Donald is definitely losing value in terms of the party and in terms of politics generally, and Ivanka and Jared are legitimately wealthy people apart from whatever Donald’s doing, so they don’t need him to the same degree they might have.”
She added, “It’s the same with most of Donald’s inner circle — there is always a transactional calculation being made and a lot of people are making the calculation that it just isn’t worth it for them anymore.”
In other words, it has always been a sort of quid pro quo. Jared and Ivanka wanted to enrich themselves, so they took jobs in the Trump administration because they knew it would give them the perfect opportunity to make a mint. If you doubt that, consider the massive deal Jared made with Saudi Arabia after his father-in-law lost the 2020 election.
PBS reported on the Kushner deal with the Saudis back in April.
A $2 billion investment that President Trump — former President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner secured last summer from a fund led by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia has raised questions about the ethics of post-White House business dealings.
Kushner’s private equity firm secured the investment after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman overruled a host of objections from the sovereign wealth fund’s advisers. The New York Times reported some of the group’s concerns. The private equity firm was found to be — quote — “unsatisfactory in all aspects.” The kingdom would be taking on the bulk of the investment and the risk.
Ivanka, on the other hand, got new trademark approvals from China while her old man was still president, CNBC noted in 2018.
President Donald Trump’s daughter and senior advisor, Ivanka Trump, last month won initial approval from the Chinese government for 16 new trademarks, covering a wide range of products that include “voting machines.”
The approval for Ivanka Trump’s trademarks — which comes three months after she said her personal clothing brand was shutting down — occurred “while her father continues to wage a trade war with China,” noted the public interest group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which first reported the approval.
Jared and Ivanka have lined their nest and now they’re kicking Donald to the curb.
