Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are considering bailing on Donald Trump and Washington DC
Of all the various failed experiments of the ill-fated Donald Trump administration, one of the most notorious has been the nepotistic anointment of Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner as clueless White House advisers. Ivanka has had no influence or success whatsoever, and appears to have no reason to be there. Jared was briefly influential, but he’s fallen out of favor and he’s awash in scandal. Now it turns out they’re considering packing up and leaving town.
That’s the word according to a new Vanity Fair profile, which reports “One well-connected strategist in New York told me that the two were eyeing a move at the end of the school year in 2018” (link). This is a remarkable revelation. Not only does it point to their belief that there’s nothing for them to accomplish in Washington DC, it also suggests that they’re not sold on the idea that Donald will still be in office by the end of the school year.
Although Ivanka has had no apparent influence over her father’s political decisions, it’s difficult to envision her skipping town and abandoning him altogether. Donald Trump’s cognitive abilities have been clearly and rapidly worsening since he’s taken office. He can’t deliver a coherent sentence without a teleprompter. He forgets whom he’s talking to. He gets confused and wanders off in the middle of his own public appearances.
If Ivanka Trump is truly looking at leaving Washington DC a mere eight or nine months from now, it may be because she’s now expecting her father to resign or be ousted by that time. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is breathing down Trump’s neck, and the Republican Party has largely sided with Mueller over Trump. The GOP could try to strategically force him out before the midterm races heat up. Even if Donald hasn’t yet figured out the clock is ticking, Ivanka and Jared may already be planning for his inevitable early exit.
