I’m very happy President-elect Donald Trump has a lot of love for his son-in-law, but I know I’m not the only person who laughed out loud upon reading this section of this NYT article.
Apparently – this entire time – the secret to securing peace in the Middle East is finding the son of a billionaire who is married to the daughter of a billionaire who “knows the religion”.
Yes, yes… I can see that now! I can see how that person could be the empathetic and soul-connected keystone capable of ending thousands of years of religious and tribal disagreement.
Mr. Trump rejected the idea that he was bound by federal anti-nepotism laws against installing his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in a White House job. But he said he would want to avoid the appearance of a conflict, and might instead seek to make him a special envoy charged with brokering peace in the Middle East.
“The president of the United States is allowed to have whatever conflicts he or she wants, but I don’t want to do that,” Mr. Trump said. But he said that Mr. Kushner, who is an observant Jew, “could be very helpful” in reconciling the longstanding dispute between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
“I would love to be able to be the one that made peace with Israel and the Palestinians,” Mr. Trump said, adding that Mr. Kushner “would be very good at it. He knows the region.”
“A lot of people tell me, really great people tell me that it’s impossible — you can’t do it,” Mr. Trump added. “I disagree; I think you can make peace.”
“I have reason to believe I can do it,” he added.
Our President-Elect can’t put together a transition team, he can’t take a joke, and I cringe at the potential clumsiness of his upcoming Inaugural speech, but he “believe[s]” his gold-clad family can make peace in the Middle East by sending the yes-man son-in-law for a little chat… because Jared “knows the religion”.
What about the “other” religion? Does Jared need to “know” that one, too, or will he just not rent space to them as a part of family policy?
In my lifetime I’ve been subjected to egos the size of mountains (including my own), but when Donald and Jared occupy the same space – anyone else in the vicinity must suffocate under the weight.
Good luck, Jared. If I were you – and thankfully I’m not – I’d stick with your current job: Donald’s ego stroker. That job suits you.
(Thank you NYT)
