Trump swaps family aides for hardy veterans
Out go Ivanka and Jared, in come wily old hands to help secure second presidential term
‘While I will always support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena’
DONALD TRUMP’S campaign team is less of a family affair and more professional than before, according to his sonin-law.
Jared Kushner, who served in the Trump White House, has ruled out joining his administration should the former president be returned to office.
If Mr Trump wins the election in November, the White House would be less of a “family affair”, he said.
Interviewed on the Axios website, Mr Kushner, who is married to Mr Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, said Mr Trump had become more selective in choosing his top team.
“I suspect that if he gets into office again, he would have just a level of competence and professionalism, even more so than it was in the last administration,” he said.
“I think he has a much better understanding of who was effective and all these different roles and I suspect he’ll have a very, very long list of very qualified people to choose from.”
Mr Kushner added that he and his wife had enjoyed their life out of the spotlight.
“Both my wife and myself were working in the White House, which is a 24/7, high-stakes job, and so we both really enjoyed the opportunity to be down here in Florida with the kids.”
When the former president announced his re-election campaign in November 2022, his daughter issued a statement saying that she would no longer be actively involved in his political operations.
“While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena,” she said.
In June 2023, Mr Trump himself was asked by Fox News if Ms Trump and Mr Kushner would be by his side again during a potential second term, to which he responded “no”.
The couple, who were both advisers to Mr Trump, were seen as liberal, restraining influences on the president. Both had previously raised funds for the Democrats and faced resentment within a dysfunctional White House, with some in the Trump circle unhappy at the presence of his family members in the administration.
In his memoir, Mr Kushner made little secret of his dislike of John Kelly, one of four chiefs of staff in Mr Trump’s White House. Cabinet positions regularly changed hands in an administration that was not known for its stability.
Many of those brought in – including Kellyanne Conway, the Kushners and Steve Bannon – had never served in government.
Mr Kushner said Mr Trump’s current team was “maybe the best he’s had” in what will be seen as a thinly veiled criticism of the previous administration.
The teams in previous elections also proved problematic. Corey Lewandowski was fired as campaign manager in June 2016, five months before the election. And in 2020 Brad Parscale was demoted and later hospitalised for psychiatric evaluation after he threatened to harm himself.
Those in the current
Trump circle are regarded in Washington as impressive and less likely to generate the wrong sort of headlines.
The team is led by Susan Wiles and Chris Lacivita, experienced Republican operators. Ms Wiles, who is seen as Mr Trump’s de-facto chief of staff, worked on Ronald Reagan’s 1988 campaign.
Former marine Mr Lacivita is more aggressive having earned his spurs in the “Swift Boat Veterans” campaign to undermine the war record of Democratic candidate John Kerry.
Mr Lacivita and Brian Jack were active in thwarting the “Never Trump” movement which tried to derail his campaign at the 2016 Republican convention.
Jeff Lord, associate political director in Ronald Reagan’s White House, saw the team in action when he met Mr Trump ahead of a rally in Pennsylvania. “It was very professional,” he told The
Telegraph.“they made sure that they had their time with him. It’s small details like that which really matter in a campaign.”