President Donald Trump allegedly considered his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner for the position of secretary of state.
In Michael Wolff’s new book, ‘Fire and Fury: Inside Trump’s White House’, he writes that the president and then-new Chief of Staff John Kelly had a meeting during which the four star general hoped to discuss how to encourage Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s departure from the White House.
However, Kelly quickly learned that Trump was ‘delighted with all aspects of their performance’ and had even higher aspirations for Kushner.
President Donald Trump allegedly considered his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner potentially becoming secretary of state (Pictured, Trump and Kushner, December 2017)
In Michael Wolff’s new book, ‘Fire and Fury: Inside Trump’s White House’, he writes that General John Kelly (pictured) was hoping to encourage Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s departure from the White House but soon learned that Trump was ‘delighted’ with their performance
‘General Kelly had Jared and Ivanka on his agenda – how the president saw their role; what he thought was working and not working about it; how he envisioned it going forward. It was all intended to be a politic way of opening a discussion about getting them out,’ Wolff wrote.
‘But the president was, Kelly soon learned, delighted with all aspects of their performance in the West Wing. Maybe at some point Jared would become secretary of state – that was the only change the president seemed to foresee.
‘The most Kelly could do was to get the president to acknowledge that the couple should be part of a greater organizational discipline in the West Wing and should not so readily jump in the line.’
Kelly reportedly had been seeking changes and to institute order in a White House that was seemingly chaos under his predecessor, Reince Preibus, and wanted to control access to Trump and his office.
It seems Kelly was able to succeed late last year. A report indicated both Kushner and Ivanka’s roles had diminished in the White House despite their lofty titles.
The roles of Ivanka and Kushner has long been a point of tension in the current administration. According to Wolff, conservative pundit Ann Coulter told Trump when he was president-elect that he could not simply hire his children.
The roles of Ivanka and Kushner (left) in the White House has long been a point of tension in the current administration. According to Wolff, conservative pundit Ann Coulter told Trump (right) when he was president-elect that he could not simply hire his children
‘Nobody is apparently telling you this. But you can’t. You just can’t hire your children,’ Coulter told Trump (Pictured, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner with their son, Theodore, December 2017)
‘Nobody is apparently telling you this,’ Coulter said. ‘But you can’t. You just can’t hire your children.’
Speaking to the BBC in London on Saturday, Wolff declared that his instant New York Times bestseller would prove the catalyst for the end of the Trump administration, which has not yet completed one year in office
The Trump Organization has long been a family affair for Trump, who turned over the day-to-day running of his companies to his sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, upon assuming the presidency.
Additionally, the relationship between the president and current Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been contentious.
In November, Trump said ‘we’ll see’ if Tillerson lasts his full first term. Tillerson has insisted he isn’t leaving.
Speaking to the BBC in London on Saturday, Wolff declared that his instant New York Times bestseller would prove the catalyst for the end of the Trump administration, which has not yet completed one year in office.
The controversial journalist told the Today program: ‘I think one of the interesting effects of the book so far is a very clear emperor-has-no-clothes effect.’
This comes as the president fired-off one of his now-traditional Saturday morning barrage of tweets – claiming that he is fit to be president and not just smart, but a ‘genius.. and a very stable genius at that!’
Trump, 71, attacked Wolff and former top aide Steve Bannon, who was quoted in the book, on Twitter on Friday night
The president’s tweet was a response to a tweet put out by the official Republican Party Twitter account which uses quotes from other journalists to call into question Wolff’s credibility
Trump, 71, attacked Wolff and former top aide Steve Bannon, who was quoted in the book, on Twitter on Friday night.
He wrote: ‘Michael Wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book.
‘He used Sloppy Steve Bannon, who cried when he got fired and begged for his job.
‘Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad!’
The book claims Bannon called a meeting involving the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr, and Jared Kushner, with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 presidential campaign ‘treasonous’.