Former President Donald Trump looks poised for a second impeachment acquittal — but Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are reportedly warning him not to "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory."
With Trump's second Senate impeachment trial set to start in just a few hours, Politico reported on Tuesday that his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner have warned the former president "that while he has the votes for acquittal, he can still screw this up."
"'Snatch defeat from the jaws of victory' is the phrase Kushner has been heard using most frequently to describe the worry," Politico writes.
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.
Trump's acquittal has been seen as likely after 45 Senate Republicans backed an effort to dismiss the impeachment trial last month, suggesting there aren't enough votes for a conviction. In this historic second trial, Trump is facing charges of inciting an insurrection at the Capitol building that left five people dead. His lawyers are expected to argue that the trial isn't constitutional because he's no longer in office.
Trump, Politico also reports, has evidently taken Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's advice to heart, with an aide telling the outlet, "Right now Trump is thinking, 'I've got 45 votes, all I have to do is go golfing and not do anything.'" But he's also "already imagining his comeback," according to the report — and drawing comparisons to his reality show The Apprentice.
"He's compared it to that time in between seasons of The Apprentice, building anticipation and wonderment for what's to come," an adviser told Politico.
While it's not exactly clear what Trump imagines such a comeback to look like, a separate Politico report on Tuesday said that aides expect him to "gradually" re-emerge once the trial is over, at which point he'll likely be "turning his attention toward seeking revenge against Republicans who, he believes, crossed him after he left office."
-
Europe counters Putin ahead of Trump summitSpeed Read President Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this week for Ukraine peace talks
-
Israeli security cabinet OKs Gaza City takeoverSpeed Read Netanyahu approved a proposal for Israeli Defense Forces to take over the largest population center in the Gaza Strip
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Thailand, Cambodia agree to ceasefire in border fightSpeed Read At least 38 people were killed and more than 300,000 displaced in the recent violence
-
Israel 'pauses' Gaza military activity as aid outcry growsSpeed Read The World Health Organization said malnutrition has reached 'alarming levels' in Gaza
-
US and EU reach trade dealSpeed Read Trump's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen resulted in a tariff agreement that will avert a transatlantic trade war
-
At least 12 dead in Thai-Cambodian clashesSpeed Read Both countries accused the other of firing first
-
US and Japan strike trade dealSpeed Read Trump signed what he's calling the 'largest deal ever made'
