The time Trump reportedly unwittingly called Jared Kushner an idiot

Former President Donald Trump reportedly predicted he'd lose the 2020 election at one point in March of that year, as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the United States. And, without realizing it, he reportedly cast the blame on his son-in-law and trusted adviser, Jared Kushner.

"[COVID-19] Testing is killing me!," Trump reportedly shouted in a phone call with then-Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, a forthcoming book titled Nightmare Scenario: Inside the Trump Administration's Response to the Pandemic That Changed History by Washington Post reporters Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damien Paletta reveals. "I'm going to lose the election because of testing!"

Trump reportedly then wondered "what idiot had the federal government" take charge of coronavirus testing in the U.S. "Uh, do you mean Jared?," Azar responded, referring to Kushner, who just a few days before the call "had vowed to take charge of a national testing strategy with the help of the private sector," Abutaleb and Paletta write. Read more details from their book at The Washington Post.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up