I have never trusted Jared Kushner, as I have always believed his motives for joining the first Trump administration were self-serving in nature.
I have also believed that he is far more left than right, and I think his policy influence during Donald Trump's initial term in office proved me right.
Now, he and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff have said something that could create a major problem for the president and Republicans moving forward.
Just go show the root of the problem with Kushner, we can go back to the president's first administration and the First Step Act.
This was a prison reform act that was initially rejected by Donald Trump, but after significant lobbying from Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s husband, the president eventually caved and backed its provisions.
Among the top Republicans who also opposed the program were Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), John Kennedy (R-LA), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) initially opposed the legislation designed to put the program in place, but he eventually caved to Trump.
Some liberal groups contended that legislation did not go far enough to reform prison sentencing practices, but many of us on the right thought this was more of a liberal policy being put in play, and that it would ultimately hurt Trump and the Republicans in the subsequent election cycle.
By far, the biggest contribution Kushner made to the first administration was that of helping craft the Abraham Accords.
Kushner was the lead for Trump in an effort for diplomatic normalization between Israel and other Middle Eastern nations that had been at odds with the Jewish state for decades.
The first agreements were announced on Sept. 15, 2020, and they were entered into by Israel and numerous other Arab states.
Those initial signatories were the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Kushner and Witkoff appeared on 60 Minutes this weekend to discuss the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, but comments made by the pair did not sit well with a lot of people on the right, including myself.
The president's son-in-law stated, “The biggest message that we’ve tried to convey to the Israeli leadership now is that, now that the war is over, if you want to integrate Israel with the broader Middle East, you have to find a way to help the Palestinian people thrive and do better.”
Israel has done more than its fair share on this front, while nations like Qatar and Turkey get a free ride, a fact that was emphasized by journalist Katie Pavlich, who responded, “How about Qatar and Turkey work to help the Palestinian people thrive? How about they help themselves by breaking away from their death cult? Israel gave Gazans work permits & cancer treatments. In response, they got October 7, enabled by endless ‘aid’ for terrorism.”
Let’s not forget that the Palestinian people, for whom he was advocating, effectively turned over the Gaza Strip to Hamas, while also allowing that terrorist organization to thrive. I have always considered Palestine a terror state for allowing this to happen, and I believe I was vindicated in that belief by the way in which its leaders refused to help Israel fight Hamas during this war. To me, Kushner sounds like he is echoing far-left talking points, but doing so in a deliberately delicate manner. I don’t trust him, and I never will.
