How Trump's ex-campaign manager allowed Jared Kushner to 'rule from afar'
Brad Parscale is no longer President Trump's re-election campaign manager, but he had some real influence within President Trump's inner circle for some time, New York reports. That's largely because of his close relationship with the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who apparently has a lot of detractors within the campaign.
Sources told New York that Parscale's true value to the campaign wasn't so much his skills as a political operative, but rather the fact that he seemed to always have Kushner's back. "Brad was willing to do whatever Jared said keep quiet about it," a senior White official told New York. "Brad was willing to get yelled at by the president and not say, 'Well, actually this was Jared's decision.' And Jared got to rule from afar because Brad would do whatever he said."
In turn, the source said, Parscale made a lot of money "and got to live by the pool in Florida. It was almost like this weird mutual partnership, whether they knew it or not."
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.
But even if Parscale wasn't around, it seems unlikely Kushner would have struggled to grasp the reins of the campaign. Ultimately, Parscale got demoted and was replaced by Bill Stepien, who is also considered a Kushner ally. Per New York, "Kushner's influence is so total that, even when his proxy is removed, he's just replaced by yet another proxy." Read more at New York.
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.
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid war
Speed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freeze
Speed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wicked fails to defy gravity
Talking Point Film version of hit stage musical weighed down by 'sense of self-importance'
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid war
Speed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freeze
Speed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler group
Speed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden allows Ukraine to hit deep in Russia
Speed Read The U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington, a decision influenced by Russia's escalation of the war with North Korean troops
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sri Lanka's new Marxist leader wins huge majority
Speed Read The left-leaning coalition of newly elected Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won 159 of the legislature's 225 seats
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden arrives in Peru for final summits
Speed Read President Joe Biden will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, visit the Amazon rainforest and attend two major international summits
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published