Jonathan Swann reports that President Trump has told people he regrets following some of Jared Kushner’s political advice — including supporting criminal justice reform — and will stick closer to his own instincts from now on. Swann cites three people who allegedly possess “direct knowledge of the president’s thinking.”
I don’t know whether Trump is, in fact, tired of Kushner’s “woke sh*t,” as one source put it. I know I am. In my view, the lenient sentencing legislation Trump pushed through at Kushner’s urging is the worst thing the president has done during his tenure.
But was it bad politics? Probably not. As we discussed during our most recent Power Line program, Trump may be able to run both to Joe Biden’s left and to his right on crime. That is, Trump can hold himself out as tougher than Biden on crime in general, while at the same time pointing out that Biden strongly backed harsh sentences that Trump rolled back in a bipartisan effort.
Trump probably has moments, or moods, when he is tired of Kushner. And Trump’s instincts likely run counter to any “woke” initiatives Kushner might peddle. In addition, Trump is known to pay attention to Tucker Carlson’s show, and Carlson ripped Kushner recently over the lenient sentencing legislation.
Therefore, we can expect Trump to steer clear of new wokeness between now and November. At the same time, I think he’ll try to make whatever hay he can out of his support of “sentencing reform.”
If Trump is reelected, I hope Kushner will play a lesser role in the second administration. He possesses no expertise or experience that suggests he should be part of the president’s inner circle. He wouldn’t be anywhere close to the White House but for his marriage to Trump’s favorite daughter.
Marriage isn’t a qualification. Neither is wokeness.
