White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt lashed out at a New York Times reporter, calling his question about President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the glaring conflict of interest in Kushner’s involvement in negotiations on a peace deal between Israel and Hamas “despicable.”
“I think it’s despicable,” she snapped, “you’re trying to suggest that it’s inappropriate for Jared Kushner … to strike a 20-point comprehensive, detailed peace plan.”
But that wasn’t the only controversy to erupt. Within days, new revelations showed Kushner wasn’t just advising from the sidelines — he was at the center of the deal’s biggest decisions, and Ivanka Trump was in Israel celebrating it like a family victory lap.
Leavitt’s fiery defense came after the Times’ reporter asked why the administration allowed Kushner, who’s taken in over $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE through his private-equity firm Affinity Partners, to handle matters involving those same nations.
Rather than address the question, Leavitt doubled down.
“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 relationship with these critical partners in these countries, to strike a 20-point comprehensive, detailed peace plan that no other administration would ever be able to achieve,” she spat out, trying to contain her rage.
People on social media are outraged by Leavitt’s dressing down of the reporter.
“He asked because it *is* inappropriate and illegal,” X user Linda Ajello pointed out.
And another chimed in, “Translation: how dare you ask a legitimate question that I have no idea or clue on how to answer!”
“Someone remind fascist Barbie that none of this is normal,” X user Larry Lynam suggested.
In the days that followed, reports painted a fuller picture that showed Kushner’s fingerprints on nearly every step of the negotiations despite his supposed absence from Trump’s second-term administration.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Kushner was inside the Oval Office on Sept. 29, standing beside Trump as the president handed a phone to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to apologize to Qatar’s leadership for a missile strike that had threatened to derail the peace talks.
Witnesses described Kushner as “at the center of every critical decision,” even as he continues to profit from billions in investment from the same nations involved in the deal.
WSJ also reported that Kushner and longtime Trump ally Steve Witkoff are now working with developers on what’s being pitched as Trump’s vision for a “Riviera of the Middle East,” a Gaza reconstruction plan that has raised further questions about who stands to benefit financially if the cease-fire holds.
As Leavitt defended Kushner in Washington, Ivanka Trump re-emerged in Israel, smiling onstage beside her husband as crowds applauded. “Ivanka’s victory-lap diplomacy” is how The Independent described the scene — an image that many observers said encapsulated the Trump family’s pattern of blurring public duty and personal gain.
“The First Daughter has been doing a victory lap for something she had nothing to do with, but perhaps the unapologetic nepotism is the point,” the opinion piece read.
“Totally mockery to have Jared and Ivanka speak,” one viral post on X said. “The audience knows America is not sending their best.”
Other users didn’t hold back either. “The Trump family never misses an opportunity for getting something for themselves,” another X user said. “They are America’s true crime family.”
“Jared Kushner, who once pitched Gaza’s coast as ‘prime real estate’ to be cleaned up, is now in Israel with Ivanka celebrating the ‘peace deal.’ If the Trump family is cashing in on this, that’s not diplomacy—it’s corruption,” another commenter added.
For many, Leavitt’s angry defense at the podium was the prelude to a bigger revelation — that the president’s inner circle is still operating like a family business, only this time on the world stage.
Meanwhile, Kushner’s Affinity Partners firm has ballooned to nearly $5 billion in assets, fueled by Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. Just last week, the fund agreed to terms on a record-breaking $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — evidence that his business ties remain deeply intertwined with U.S. foreign policy interests.
Kushner and his company were at the center of a Senate investigation before Democrats lost control of Congress last year. But before that happened, the Senate Finance Committee said in a statement last September, “Affinity has pocketed as much as $157 million in fees from foreign clients, including $87 million from the Saudi government.”
It also noted that Kushner’s fee structure was unusually high compared to market trends and Kushner’s inexperience.
“Affinity has generated no return on investment as of July 2024 and failed to deploy capital in a timely fashion,” the statement also said.
During Trump’s first term, Kushner, with no prior political experience, served as Trump’s senior adviser covering a broad range of important areas, including trade, domestic policy, and foreign relations. Ivanka similarly held an adviser role as well, with no experience.
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