Jared Kushner, Trump’s Jewish son-in-law, arranged visit with Mexican president
Dubbed by The New York Times as Trump’s ‘de facto campaign manager,’ Kushner continues to influence nominee’s foreign policy
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WASHINGTON — The world of international diplomacy is new to Donald Trump, but his Jewish son-in-law, Jared Kushner, appears to be helping him navigate it.
It’s been said for months that Kushner has been influencing the Republican nominee on foreign policy issues, though spectators have now seen its first concrete manifestation.
The 35-year-old real estate developer orchestrated Trump’s high-profile visit to Mexico this week to meet with its president, Enrique Peña Nieto, according to a series of reports.
Mexico has been one of the most pivotal aspects of the billionaire’s pitch to voters. It has also been one of his most controversial: His campaign launch was noted for his accusation that the country is sending “rapists” and drug dealers into the United States.
In the past, Kushner has advised Trump on a myriad of campaign matters, including the selection of a running mate, for which the The New York Times has described him as Trump’s “de facto campaign manager.” He also reportedly drafted his speech at this year’s AIPAC Policy Conference.
Trump’s Wednesday trip and immigration speech in Phoenix, which took place later that evening, were intended to do two things: appeal to moderate voters by demonstrating Trump’s ability to collaborate with world leaders, and also reinforce his commitment to his signature campaign pledge of building a security fence along America’s southern border and deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Kushner, who married Trump’s daughter Ivanka in 2009, initially recommended to his father-in-law a Mexico visit some time back, according to The Wall Street Journal. Once Trump was given the opportunity to do so at the invitation of the Mexican president, Kushner rushed to organize logistics.
Around the same time, President Peña Nieto, who has an exceptionally low approval rating in his country of 23 percent, was being hounded by the media if he would ever meet with the man many claim has insulted his people with derogatory stereotypes.
He ended up inviting both Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to visit Mexico. While the former secretary of state has not accepted the invitation, Kushner hastily ensured that Trump seized the opportunity.
Despite the Trump campaign securing an image of the candidate standing alongside a foreign head of state, the outreach largely backfired.
According to the Journal, both Trump’s and Peña Nieto’s teams decided not to discuss who will pay for the wall Trump wants to construct along the US-Mexico border.
Peña Nieto, however, surprised those in the hour-long meeting when he stated that his country wouldn’t acquiesce to Trump’s demand. Former New York City mayor and Trump supporter Rudy Giuliani supposedly interjected, “That’s off the table.” Without Trump saying anything, the conversation quickly shifted in another direction.
During the press conference following their discussion, Trump told reporters the wall was discussed but not who would pay for it. Hours later, Peña Nieto tweeted: “Repeating what I told you personally, Mr. Trump: Mexico will never pay for a wall.”
Repito lo que le dije personalmente, Sr. Trump: México jamás pagaría por un muro. https://t.co/IJNVe0XepY
— Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN) September 1, 2016
Trump was reportedly incensed by what he saw as a breach of diplomatic protocol. He claimed that he did not plan to include language about the wall in his Phoenix address, which was designed to lay out his immigration policy and clarify inconsistencies over the campaign. But after learning of Peña Nieto’s tweet, he re-inserted that language back into his remarks.
“We will build a great wall along the southern border,” he told his supporters. “And Mexico will pay for the wall, 100 percent. They don’t know it yet, but they’re going pay for the wall.”
Kushner and Ivanka Trump are often cited by those who wish to downplay accusations of anti-Semitism in the Trump campaign and validate the candidate’s commitment to Israel and the Jewish community.
Shortly before the couple married, Ivanka underwent a rigorous conversion process under the tutelage of Rabbi Haskel Lookstein at the Upper East Side’s Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun.
Much media attention has been granted to how Kushner, an Orthodox Jew and grandson of Holocaust survivors, is one of the lynchpins of a campaign that’s been embraced by white nationalists and neo-Nazis.
The Times of Israel Community.