Throughout Donald Trump's presidential campaign, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was something of a man behind the curtain. After Trump won, Kushner and Ivanka Trump picked up from New York to move to Washington, D.C., where Kushner assumed a role as senior adviser. But "just 10 days in, [Kushner and Ivanka Trump are] starting to see signs that it might not work out well for their own ambitions," Vanity Fair reports.
...According to a source familiar with the situation, Kushner's influence on his boss may be flagging. Last week, Kushner spent 24 hours trying to broker a meeting between Trump and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. The source said that Kushner was even considering flying to Mexico in order to convince Peña Nieto, who had butted heads with Trump over various issues, to travel to the White House. Ultimately, Peña Nieto agreed — a feat Kushner presented to his father-in-law on Wednesday night. It was his first real victory in the West Wing in his role as senior adviser, and it would be a major step toward turning one of Trump's main campaign promises into a reality.Less than 12 hours later, though, it all fell apart. After Peña Nieto reiterated that Mexico does not plan to pay for Trump's proposed wall, Trump tweeted that if Mexico is "unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting." Just like that, the meeting was canceled. "Kushner was f--king furious," the source told me. "I'd never once heard him say he was angry throughout the entire campaign. But he was furious." (A representative for the Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.) [Vanity Fair]
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 8, 2025Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - trade wars, healthcare costs, and more
-
Marbled tea eggs recipeThe Week Recommends With a beautiful exterior, these eggs are also marked by their soft yolk
-
The Washington Post: kowtowing to Trump?Talking Point The newspaper's opinion editor has handed in his notice following edict from Jeff Bezos
-
Trump eases Mexico, Canada tariffs again as markets slidespeed read The president suspended some of the 25% tariffs he imposed on Mexican and Canadian imports
-
Trump tells Cabinet they are in charge of layoffs, not MuskSpeed Read The White House has faced mounting complaints about DOGE's sweeping cuts
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining HouseSpeed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharingSpeed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freezeSpeed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
-
Trump touts early wins in partisan speech to CongressSpeed Read The president said he is 'just getting started' with his sweeping changes to immigration, the economy and foreign policy
-
Trudeau blasts Trump's 'very dumb' trade warSpeed Read Retaliatory measures have been announced by America's largest trading partners following Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
-
Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine after public spatSpeed Read Trump and J.D. Vance berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy for what they saw as insufficient gratitude
