Just hours after a deadly siege at the US Capitol resulted in the death of a police officer, President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, hosted a fancy dinner party for members of the Trump administration and invited guests.
The odd revelation is one of many in ABC News journalist Jonathan Karl’s book, Betrayal, which chronicles the 45th president’s final days in office and his antics as a former president at Mar-a-Lago.
Karl writes that the event hosted by Kushner and Trump took place on January 7, barely over 24 hours after one of the most startling scenes in US political history, and amid a wave of furious resignations throughout the administration, including that of longtime staffer Stephanie Grisham.
However, the subject was never brought up at the dinner, which was attended by Larry Kudlow, a White House adviser who served as director of the National Economic Council under President Trump.
Instead, the party concentrated on suggestions for forming a free-market think tank, with the objective of appealing to Democrats and drawing their opponents away from the party’s base’s embrace of left-leaning economic policies in recent years.
It’s unclear whether Trump was aware of the dinner gathering based on Karl’s article. The president had secluded himself from everyone except his most hardcore supporters as the violence developed in DC, resulting in the senior White House adviser avoiding his own employer in the hours after it ended, according to Kushner’s statements to Karl.
“Among those who attended were Larry Kudlow and Brooke Rollins, who was still working as senior officials in the Trump White House. Kevin Hassett, who had served as one of Trump’s top economic advisors until the summer of 2020, was also there. One of those who attended the dinner told me the conversation centered on the idea of creating a new think tank to promote free-market economics in a way that would appeal to Democrats,” reads an excerpt from Karl’s book, obtained by The Independent.
Remarkably, there was no mention of the fact that a mob had just stormed the Capitol days earlier, ransacking the offices of Democratic leaders and trying to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory. There was no mention whatsoever—whatsoever—by Jared and Ivanka or any of their guests—of January 6,” it continued.
Kushner told a Republican member the same day that he was avoiding the president and his efforts to stay in power completely.
“We’ll just get in a fight if I go over there,” said Kushner, according to Karl, referring to the Oval Office.
Despite a distinct lack of worry shown by many, including his former chief of staff, John Kelly, about what the president planned to do in the weeks running up to 6 January, Karl’s book exposes just how widespread and serious Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat were.
The select committee investigating the 6 January attack is now gathering testimony from a wide range of former Trump administration and campaign officials, as the legislative branch seeks to learn how close the US came to see a sitting president successfully remain in office after losing an election, while also looking into the events of the Capitol riot.
If Trump runs for president in 2024, it is uncertain whether he would receive the same amount of support from members of his inner circle, including Kushner and Trump, his daughter who played a lower part in his campaign than her brothers.
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