Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner distance themselves from the former president and his constant complaints
A big part of the reason for the split is the constant dwelling on Trump's past and his inability to move on. The former president has also begun to question the role that Kushner, one of the few people who was able to stay close to Trump during his two presidential campaigns and his White House tenure, has played in his presidential legacy.
Having spent much of the past five and a half years close to him, Ivanka Trump and Kushner were rarely seen with him in the months leading up to the former president's seasonal shift from living in Mar-a-Lago to Palm. Beach, Florida, to live in a cabin at his private golf club in Bedminster, NJ.
"They weren't present for the usual spring and summer events at Mar-a-Lago," says a club attendee and family friend, noting the absence of Trump's eldest daughter and the couple's three young children.
At the same time, the disappearance of Kushner, once the leader of Trump's political operations, was also evident. A person familiar with Kushner says there were visits from the Kushner / Trump family to Mar-a-Lago prior to Trump's move north, but they were rare, averaging once every three to four weeks. The physical distance between them was not very great: After leaving Washington, Kushner and Ivanka Trump moved to a Miami skyscraper to await the construction of their mansion on a nearby private island.
Kushner's presence, physically and virtually, has become increasingly rare as it became clear that his father-in-law was still concerned about the 2020 election, according to a person familiar with the situation.
"He was like a father who stays less and less every morning while his son is taken to kindergarten," said this person.
Kushner moves to the side
It wasn't distance that kept Kushner at bay, those who know his thought say, it was the desire to be away from Trump's constant contempt and the chorus of voices that cheer him on.
"Trump always has a variety of characters around him," says a person who worked in the administration.
In mid-March, some of Trump's most trusted advisers began urging him to add someone to his team who could oversee the day-to-day operations and help organize his candidate meetings, fundraising applications, and investigative process. back.
“I don't think it's accurate to say that I needed a new Jared, because Jared was always more of a politician guy within the White House, but there was definitely a sense that part of the puzzle was missing and was contributing to a lot of internal turmoil and chaos. "Said a former White House official.
Eventually, Trump brought in Susie Wiles, a Florida-based consultancy who had earned his trust and was a familiar face to others on his payroll. But the frequency of Wiles's appearances, as well as her overall involvement, has also decreased since Trump moved to Bedminster over the summer, according to one of the people involved in his operation.
Another constant presence is that of Donald Trump Jr, whose penchant for politics has grown in the years since his father entered the political scene and who has become an increasingly trusted advisor to the former real estate mogul.
Kushner is not helping Trump prepare plans for a rally later this month, nor is he heavily involved with the former president's endorsement decisions or frequent public statements, which, without a social media presence, come through press releases. Trump leadership press release, PAC, Save America. - again, something Kushner has deviated from.
Without the participation of his eldest daughter and her husband, Trump is isolated from his influence, although the person close to Kushner does note that he "still speaks on the phone" with the former president.
Now Trump finds himself more frequently in the company of an ever-changing circle of advisers. Trump's allies say he is interacting once again with characters who should require supervision, noting that he has been in frequent contact with One America News anchor Christina Bobb, a prolific advocate of implausible theories about the 2020 election, in addition to the CEO of MyPillow. Mike Lindell, who has encouraged Trump to continue challenging the 2020 election results in various states.
A member of Trump's team tells CNN that the former president "has always had isolated relationships" with various people and that even in the White House, with Kushner seemingly down the hall, Trump could often be "running his own game. ». This person points out that Trump's cadre of recent influencers is similar to the unconventional way of getting opinions from him.
"There are other circles around him, yes," says this person, who does not dispute that there are questionable characters in the ear of the former president, "but that does not mean that he does not also have very reasonable and buttoned-up people there too".
The person close to Kushner adds that the group from which Trump bounces his most outrageous and questionable theories, though conspiratorial in nature, is not entirely outside the purview of a large number of "regulars" with whom he has kept court. the years.
"The stakes [now] are also less than they were when he was in the White House," says the source.
Eroded confidence
Trump has begun to privately question Kushner's contributions to his legacy. A person who spoke with the former president in the past two weeks recounted a conversation in which Trump complained that Kushner signed a contract with a book that he believes his son-in-law will use to take credit for some of his accomplishments.
Another source confirms that Trump is envious of Kushner's book, which an associate of Kushner said was a "seven-figure deal" with Broadside Books, the conservative arm of mega-publisher HarperCollins. Trump, who has lately been helping journalists with several books in the works on his presidency, has yet to announce a deal of his own.
"He's always been suspicious of Jared," this person said, noting that Trump had previously discounted Kushner's role in some of the key policies he enacted as president, including the Middle East peace accords and criminal justice reviews. .
Two people familiar with the conversations Trump has had since arriving in Bedminster in May say he questioned whether Kushner "achieved [ed] peace in the Middle East after all" after tensions between Israel and Hamas erupted into a violent series. of airstrikes last month.
"It's no secret that President Trump doesn't like it when he thinks other people are getting care for something that he feels he has facilitated," says another former Trump White House official. "There's a sweet spot between saying nothing about the work you did and saying too much that everyone has to find, or else they get turned on."
A person who works with Trump now disputes that the former president has expressed his disloyalty to Kushner, noting that several of the authors who have interviewed the former president for his books have asked directly if Trump blames Kushner for his electoral defeat.
"Each time, he definitely answered, 'no,' on the record," the person says.
Those close to Kushner laugh at the idea of a distancing, saying Trump is provocative sometimes because that's who he is. They note that Kushner is long used to Trump's occasional reaction, and it doesn't bother him.
"He knows that Trump recognizes his successes," says the person close to Kushner.
Still, Kushner's intimates do not doubt the fact that the couple does not agree with the current activities of the former president. It is clear that the close counseling relationship no longer exists.
The distance that Kushner and Ivanka Trump have put between their current life and the former president has also helped, but that gap that will soon be closed.
Travel
For the past week, Kushner, Ivanka Trump and their children have been on a summer road trip, from Miami to eventually Bedminster. It's the kind of summer activity that millions of American families participate in, but the Kushner clan has made stops along the way with a who's who from the previous Trump administration.
Over the weekend, they were in Kiawah, South Carolina, staying with former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who has made no secret of her desire to run for president but remains estranged from Trump's inner circle after publicly criticize his response to the presidency. 2020 election. The Kushners and Haleys were spotted on a double date at a popular local restaurant. Haley said in April that she would not run for the White House in 2024 if Trump decides that she will run, or at least discuss that scenario with him.
"That's something we'll have a conversation about at some point if that decision is something that needs to be made," she told a news conference.
Haley, like the Kushners, added that she has put space between herself and the former president, noting that she had not spoken with him since after the election, but before the assault on the Capitol on January 6 by a mob of supporters of her.
The source close to Kushner downplayed the visit with Haley, saying South Carolina was simply "one of the states on the road" in her path.
On Monday she found them in Nashville, visiting former State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus, a close friend of Ivanka Trump and a frequent guest on Fox News. During the Trump administration, Ortagus worked for then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who in recent months has been toying with the idea of running for the White House.
The Kushner family will eventually make it to their excavations on the East Coast, and the person close to Kushner noted that they will also spend time in her old New York City apartment in addition to Bedminster. Perhaps they will also visit the Hamptons, the summer playground of the rich and connected.
In Bedminster, Kushner's cabin and Trump's cabin are separated by mere tens of feet, as close as families have been for an extended period since the White House. Kushner's allies say that won't be a problem for him, as the two men "don't disagree" as one describes their relationship. Another friend of Kushner says the men have a "good relationship, but [Kushner] is nowhere near his political orbit."
However, things could be a bit more challenging for Ivanka Trump, who for the past few months has walked a tightrope between Trump, her father, and Trump, the wounded loser of a contentious election.
At the moment, he is not getting involved in rhetoric, nor in the unknowns that loom on the horizon for his father: politics, business, relationships or research.
"She is very present, in the moment," says a person who has worked closely with her for the past few years. "She is not worried."
"After spending four years serving and traveling the country extensively, Ivanka is spending time with family and friends," her former chief of staff Julie Radford told CNN.
Explaining why the former president's life is not sympathetic to his daughter's, one of the people close to Kushner said: "She focuses on her children and spends time with them, period."
"Listen, you lose an election, things happen, people get over it, move on, they are natural consequences," says Kushner's friend.
The person familiar with Trump's thinking insists that no one has been "removed" from his inner circle and that whatever the status of the relationship, the blurred lines between employee, advisor, and son-in-law exist because they have both been turned into such.
This is family, and family is in its own category. His own unique category, ”said the person.
