Trump reportedly thinks Jared Kushner's criminal justice reform act is a 'total dud'
President Trump doesn't think criminal justice reform is the ticket to another four years in the White House, Politico reports.
Jared Kushner, a White House senior adviser who doubles as Trump's son-in-law, reportedly urged the president this spring to highlight the passage of last year's First Step Act — a sweeping, bipartisan criminal justice reform bill — during his upcoming re-election campaign. But Trump reportedly told Kushner that he didn't think his voting base would care that much about it. In fact, Politico notes it likely lacks appeal to some members of his base, especially in rural parts of the country, where Trump supporters tend to respond better to hard-line, partisan crime rhetoric.
"It was clear he thinks it's a total dud," a person familiar with the spring meeting said. "He made it abundantly clear he doesn't think it's talking worth about."
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.
That actually might not be a new development, either. Sure, Trump has touted the bill and brings it up at social events, in response to reporters, and when speaking to religious groups, but it's reportedly never been all that high on his priority list. "It would be difficult to say it's a change of heart," an anonymous White House official said. "I don't think his heart was ever really in it."
The official added that some Trump aides questioned why he endorsed the bill in the first place. Another White House official, however, told Politico that the idea Trump doesn't care about the First Step Act is "false" and he the president is "clearly proud of all of his record-setting accomplishments." Read more at Politico.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
The best homes of the year
Feature Featuring a grand turret entrance in New York and built-in glass elevator in Arizona
By The Week Staff Published
-
Nordstrom family, investor to take retail chain private
Speed Read The business will be acquired by members of the family and El Puerto de Liverpool, a Mexican real estate company
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden commutes most federal death sentences
Speed Read The president downgraded the punishment of 37 of 40 prisoners on death row to life in prison without parole
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suit
Speed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published