Kushner won't say whether Trump's birtherism was racist
President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner couldn't bring himself to directly answer when Axios' Jonathan Swan asked in an interview if Mr. Trump's birther conspiracy about President Obama's birthplace was racist.
Mr. Trump was one of the leading voices among the conspiracy theorists who questioned whether Obama was really born in the U.S. But Kushner, who defended the president throughout the rare interview, simply said repeatedly that he wasn't there at the time. After pushing the conspiracy theory, Mr. Trump finally admitted after winning the GOP nomination in 2016 that Obama was born in the U.S.
"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she calls, she has called President Trump a racist. Have you ever seen him say or do anything that you would describe as racist or bigoted?" Swan asked.
"So the answer is uh -- no, absolutely not," Kushner responded. "You can't not be a racist for 69 years then run for president and be a racist. And what I'll say is that when a lot of Democrats call the president a racist I think they're doing a disservice to people who suffer because of real racism in this country."
"Was birtherism racist?" Swan asked.
"Um, look I wasn't really involved in that," Kushner said.
"I know you weren't. Was it racist?" Swan repeated.
"Like I said I wasn't involved in that," Kushner repeated.
"I know you weren't. Was it racist?" Swan asked a third time.
"Um, look, I know who the president is, and I have not seen anything in him that is racist. So again I was not involved in that," Kushner said.
"Did you wish he didn't do that?" Swan posed.
"Like I said I was not involved in that, that was a long time ago," Kushner said.
But that wasn't the only topic on which Kushner appeared to struggle for the right answer. Kushner also suggested he doesn't need to be trusted by the Palestinians as he seeks peace in the Middle East, part of his portfolio.
"Look, I'm not here to be trusted," Kushner said.
He was also asked whether he thought Palestinians were capable of governing themselves without Israeli military and governmental interference.
"The hope is that over time, they can become capable of governing," he told Swan. Kushner said if Palestinians want to attract investment in industry and infrastructure, "you do need to have a fair judicial system, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions."
When Swan pressed him on whether Palestinians could have freedom "from any Israeli government or military interference," Kushner responded, "I think that's a high bar."
Asked if Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must account for the body of columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Kushner said he's still waiting for results of an investigation. The CIA, reportedly, determined that MBS ordered the murder, and the Senate believes the crown prince bears responsibility. Kushner's relationship with MBS has raised eyebrows. The Trump son-in-law has called Khashoggi's murder a terrible thing, but continues to insist the U.S.-Saudi relationship must be maintained for economic reasons.
Mr. Trump, asked whether he'll say MBS is responsible for Khashoggi's death, turned the question back on the reporter and asked why that issue was coming up again months later.
"When did this come up again? What are you — are you back what, four months ago, no," Mr. trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn Sunday night.
