Fresh off his triumphant establishment of Middle East peace, Jared Kushner is now free to solve the immigration problem and everything else connected to Donald Trump’s self-created shutdown crisis. The Washington Post reports that Kushner “has emerged as an omnipresent and assertive player” in the shutdown negotiations. Which seems only fair, since Kushner did such a great job solving the opioid crisis, conducting diplomacy with China, reforming health care, re-engineering the entire government, and all the other tasks Trump assigned to him.
Despite those numerous triumphs, Kushner’s intrusion into the negotiations has generated “deep skepticism” about his abilities and concern about the amount of influence he wields in the White House. That concern isn’t coming from Democrats—it’s coming from Republicans, including those inside the White House, who are trying to solve an actual issue rather than play at a solution.
Even Trump would seem to be rolling his eyes at his son-in-law, saying, “Apparently, Jared has become an expert on immigration in the last 48 hours.” But while those present described Trump’s statement as ironic, it may have been delivered with 100 percent less skepticism than it deserved. Kushner has been pressing Trump, saying that only he, Kushner, has the negotiating skills to make a good deal with Democrats. Trump seems to believe him. Instead of meeting with his regular group of advisers, Trump has been secreting himself with Kushner. That means that others usually on the inside are finding themselves on the out. Those include Mike Pence and other White House officials whose titles aren’t quite as “special” as special adviser Kushner.
What wisdom is Jared Kushner sharing with Donald Trump? The man who bought 666 5th Avenue and put his family’s company over a billion-dollar barrel is telling Trump to just hold fast. Despite the polls showing that everything is trending against Trump, despite the evidence—made blindingly clear on Wednesday—that Nancy Pelosi has no intention of going anywhere, despite the increasing threat to the nation ... Kushner is telling Trump to “dig in.”
By putting his faith in Kushner, Trump is certainly digging something. But “in” is probably not the right description.
How is Kushner so certain that Democrats are on the verge of collapsing? He’s been telling Trump that he has a “solid relationship” with Democrats in both the House and the Senate. Except even the most conservative Democrats deny that they’ve exchanged so much as a nod with Kushner in months. If he has his hand on any kind of pulse, it’s being measured through mystical means. While Kushner may be pitching himself as a master negotiator to Trump, the evidence is that he hasn’t even tried to talk with Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, or anyone else on the Democratic side.
That’s a very odd way of negotiating.
Kushner’s only real contribution to the situation seems to have been making things worse. When moderate Republicans wanted to step in to insist that Trump reopen the government before continuing negotiations with Democrats, Kushner stepped in to wave them off. He prevented a letter from even reaching Trump’s eyes.
So maybe Kushner does have a role. It’s just not about talking to Democrats. He’s standing between Trump and Republicans who are trying to let Trump know that the whole shutdown scheme is a loser.
That’s not really a negotiator. That’s a roadblock.