Tech

Jared Kushner struggles to defend Trump’s birtherism

He did not avail himself all that well.

Photo of David Covucci

David Covucci

jared kushner

Snippets of a new interview by President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner hit the web on Sunday night. They are being criticized for their awkward non-responses.

Featured Video

In the interview, conducted by Axios’ Jonathan Swan, the rarely heard-from Kushner was grilled on Trump’s birtherism, Russian election interference, and his astoundingly large portfolio of matters, like solving the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The clip garnering the most attention came when Kushner was asked if Trump’s was racist, to which he said no. But he refused to give a defense of birtherism, the president’s vociferous but made-up claim that President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States.

Kushner said repeatedly that he wasn’t involved in that, and would not say whether he thought it was a racist line of attack against America’s first Black president.

Advertisement

Listen for the amazing “Ummm” he gives before deciding to not answer.

Advertisement

As David Axelrod, former Obama chief strategist, tweeted: “This is really, really awkward. And revealing!”

Advertisement

When asked about how he would solve the long-simmering and intractable conflict in the Middle East, Kushner said that he “wasn’t here to be trusted,” by the Palestine people, which isn’t exactly what you want in a lead negotiator.

Advertisement

And on his infamous Trump Tower meeting with several Russians who promised dirt on his boss’ then-opponent Hillary Clinton, Kushner said everyone criticizing him was just playing, “Monday morning quarterback.”

After, that is, feigning apparent ignorance, at first asking “Which email are you talking about?” when questioned about being called to a meeting with the president’s son and a bunch of Russians.

Advertisement

He called the meeting a “clown show” and said if there was something “nefarious” he probably would have flagged it for the authorities.

But really, with all his equivocating and lack of hard answers, the interview was a ringing endorsement for nepotism. Kushner, the son of a wealthy real estate developer, married into a billionaire real estate developer’s family and is now helping to run the country.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

However, when asked about claims of nepotism, Kushner said that “I do think I’ve got a good track record in all the things I’ve done.”

READ MORE:

Got five minutes? We’d love to hear from you. Help shape our journalism and be entered to win an Amazon gift card by filling out our 2019 reader survey.

Advertisement
 
The Daily Dot