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.
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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.
