Call & Times

Please stop confusing Kushner with simple forms

- Alexandra Petri Alexandra Petri writes the ComPost blog, offering a lighter take on the news and opinions of the day.

"[Jared] Kushner has been criticized in the past for initially not disclosing more than 100 contacts with foreign leaders including those from Russia, as well as ownership of a multimilli­on- dollar tech company with links to Goldman Sachs and businessme­n Peter Thiel and George Soros. Kushner was also one of three top campaign officials or surrogates who failed to disclose a June 2016 meeting with a woman billed as being with the Russian government and having incriminat­ing informatio­n on Hillary Clinton." — CNN, Sept. 28

Jared here. Sorry about forgetting to tell you about my private email account, senators!

In general, I apologize if, on a form, I forgot to disclose anything about myself, or, indeed, everything about myself. I just have this condition where the second I am presented with a form for making disclosure­s, I lose all recollecti­on of who I am, what I am doing and the meaning of the word "disclosure." It sounds like something that a bank should do to a poor family. Boy, I hope I'm not poor! I assume I'm not, based on these cuff links I'm wearing, but I honestly don't know! The second I was asked to supply informatio­n about myself, my condition kicked in. Have we met before? I am not trying to be rude. It's just that apparently I've met like a whole BUNCH of Russian officials, and I have zero recollecti­on of any of this. Or, like, any income I've received at any time. Or most of my business holdings. Looking at my fine-tailored suit, I assume I must have business holdings. I can't wait to find out what they are! I hope they don't involve a complex web of business dealings with hostile nations. That could be awkward.

You know that thing where you can't remember your password and the hint seems as though it was written by an entirely different person? I have that, but also for the email address itself and for having created the email. Do I have an email address? What's an email address? No, genuinely, what is an email address?

I'm sorry. I should have mentioned this to Congress earlier, really, but, again, the second I am presented with a form to fill out, my mind goes blank, and so does the form. Who am I? What am I doing here? Am I qualified to be here? Should I be here? Why was I chosen to be a presidenti­al adviser? Do I have any expertise at all in anything? Good questions, all equally difficult to answer.

Oh my God, I've been filling the form out with the wrong end of the pencil, haven't I? Oops.

They tell me that this woman is my wife and that I am a senior adviser to the president. Senior adviser — wow! Good for me.

I would tattoo personal informatio­n on my hands for ease and convenienc­e, but tattoos are lower-class and somehow I know that whatever else I may turn out to be, I am not that. I feel as though I own something made of marble, maybe a building. Or a boat, the kind with costly silent consonants in it. I bet I went to Harvard, whatever that is.

Am I male or female? Well, it's a 50/50 shot here, at least according to this form's restrictiv­e binary. Boy, I hope I'm male, just based on, like, society. I'll pick one at random.

Have I been here before? Should I be talking to you? Who am I? Is this all a nightmare? Or, wait, am I a goldfish? Is there anything else I am failing to disclose? Maybe. Who can say? I certainly can't.

I bet I know a lot about the Middle East, though. Definitely put me in charge of that.

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