It is becoming increasingly clear that Kushner is not just a doofus – he is dangerous.
By Arwa Mahdawi
The Guardian (4/7/20)
Natalie Portman once described Jared Kushner – a former classmate of hers at Harvard – as “a supervillain”. This seems unwarranted: while the president’s son-in-law is certainly a joker, he lacks the charisma needed for supervillain status. Indeed, the man lacks any charisma whatsoever; he has the presence of a piece of plywood.
In many ways, Kushner’s wooden demeanour has been his greatest strength: it has helped him fly under the radar. Politics has become a reality TV show and quiet Kushner is often too boring to bother with; it is far more interesting to focus on his glamorous wife, Ivanka Trump, or his garrulous father-in-law. Yet over the past few years Kushner has managed to insert himself into the highest levels of decision-making while largely remaining behind the scenes.
That changed last week. On Thursday, Kushner, who has taken on vast responsibilities in the Trump administration’s response to Covid-19, made his first public appearance at the White House daily coronavirus briefing. His moment in the spotlight seemed to serve as a wakeup call for the US. All of a sudden, it was glaringly obvious how dangerous Kushner’s hubris is. “I for one became even more fearful of [Covid-19] when I saw how inept” Kushner is, said the Republican pundit Meghan McCain on Monday.
McCain’s fears were widely shared. Kushner was supposedly at the press briefing to explain the work he has been doing. However, despite him repeating the word ‘“data” 13 times, it quickly became clear that he has no idea what he is doing. He doesn’t even seem to know what the purpose of a federal stockpile of medical equipment is. “It’s supposed to be our stockpile,” he explained haughtily to reporters. “It’s not supposed to be states’ stockpiles that they then use.”
Kushner’s bizarre statement stunned people. Who did the guy think that the federal stockpile belongs to if not the United States of America? The first family and their friends? …