White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was visibly triggered when asked about whether it was appropriate for Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to be involved in government business.
Leavitt tensed up at her press briefing Wednesday when asked about the businessman, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka and has no official government role, and his part in negotiating the president’s Gaza peace plan.
“How did the White House decide that it is appropriate for Jared Kushner to be working on matters that involve Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, three countries that combined have given him more than $2.5 billion for his investment firm?” New York Times reporter Shawn McCreesh asked.
As Leavitt responded, her voice quickly rose. “I think it’s frankly despicable that you’re trying to suggest that it’s inappropriate for Jared Kushner, who is widely respected around the world and has great trust and relationships with these critical partners in these countries to strike a twenty point comprehensive detailed peace plan that no other administration would ever be able to achieve,” Leavitt declared.
But the White House press secretary was not done there. She spent more than a minute lavishing praise on Trump’s son-in-law and touting the president’s Gaza plan released on Monday.
“Jared is donating his energy and his time to our government, to the president of the United States, to secure world peace, and that is a very noble thing,” she insisted.
She noted the peace plan has not just been accepted by Israel but other Arab countries and others around the world.
“Virtually everyone in the world is supportive of this plan that Jared Kushner offered his time to help put together alongside our special envoy Witkoff, the vice president, the president of the United States, Secretary Rubio and the president’s entire national security team,” she continued.
Kushner met with leaders and visited the White House to help draft the deal. His involvement comes as his private investment firm has received billions from Middle Eastern governments.
Kushner’s wading back into government business came after he and his wife both served as top advisers to Trump in the White House during his first term. Part of Kushner’s wide portfolio included addressing peace in the Middle East.
However, after Trump first left office, the couple had indicated they were done with government work.
Kushner formed the investment firm Affinity Partners back in 2021 but it has raised questions among ethics experts over conflicts of interest.
Less than a year after leaving the White House, Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from a fund led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom Kushner was a staunch supporter of during Trump’s first term.
In December, Kushner revealed his firm had secured $1.5 billion in capital from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for his firm.
At the time Trump was president-elect, but Kushner insisted during a podcast appearance that the deals were closed before the election, and they were going to do it no matter what the outcome was.
Despite his major dealings with countries in the Middle East over the past few years for his investment firm, Kushner was back at the White House on Monday to attend Trump’s announcement of his Gaza peace plan alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which Kushner helped negotiate.
“We are very proud of that plan, and we hope Hamas will accept it because it will lead to a more peaceful and prosperous Middle East,” Leavitt said on Wednesday.
The same day Kushner was at the White House for the meetings and announcement with Netanyahu, Kushner, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and other backers closed a $55 billion all-cash deal to buy the video game company Electronic Arts, the company announced.
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