Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, a senior advisor to Donald Trump, have always been known as a calming influence on the president. That’s why it came as a surprise this week when reports surfaced that the two are losing influence on Trump just weeks after he took office.
A meeting between Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto was called off today after the U.S. president tweeted, “If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting.”
The Independent reported that Kushner had spent 24 hours trying to arrange this meeting between the two leaders, and he was enraged when it fell through.
“Kushner was f****** furious,” a source close to the situation told Vanity Fair. “I’d never once heard him say he was angry throughout the entire campaign. But he was furious.”
The source went on to say that Kushner’s influence over Trump is quickly diminishing. Kushner was reportedly so invested in the meeting that he considered jumping on a plane to Mexico today to convince Nieto to meet with his father-in-law.
Another source said Ivanka, who is known as Trump’s “favorite” child, is losing influence over him as well. She faced major backlash last weekend after she shared a “date night” photo with Kushner as the country descended into protests over her father’s immigration ban. Ivanka was accused of “extreme insensitivity” and her photo was labelled as “wildly offensive”, “inappropriate” and “tone deaf.”
Ivanka reportedly felt awful about the incident and never wants anything like it to happen again, suggesting she may not be in favor of the ban. Making matters even worse for her and her husband is the fact that the Adas Israel Congregation, a Conservative synagogue in Northwest Washington where their son Joseph attends preschool, released a statement on Sunday condemning Trump’s ban.
“The leadership and clergy of Adas Israel Congregation stands with the entire Conservative movement and other local organisations such as the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington in advocating for the rights of immigrants,“ the synagogue said in a statement. “And rejecting the targeting of individuals based on religion, and calling on the US government to reject policy proposals that would halt, limit, or curtail refugee resettlement in the US or prioritise certain refugees over others.”
This puts Ivanka and her husband in an incredibly awkward position, as they must exist in a community that is firmly against Trump.
What do you think they will do? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
