Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly clashed with top Republican Party officials over their role in the Trump re-election campaign – and told Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel that he “didn’t give a f****” about the party’s future, according to a new book about the 2020 election.
According to Michael Bender’s Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost, tensions between the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) ran high throughout the summer of 2020, leading to multiple clashes between party officials and senior figures in the Trump orbit.
In an excerpt shared by Fox News, Mr Bender describes how the RNC “wasn’t merely an extension of the Trump campaign” but “a full partner”, with Ms McDaniel effectively “one of the president’s closest advisers” and the party paying field staff and even covering the rent for the campaign’s headquarters.
According to Mr Bender, among the numerous personality clashes between the campaign’s personnel – some of which involved grudges held over from the 2016 campaign – Ms McDaniel and Mr Kushner butted heads over a new RNC fundraising platform, WinRed, that Mr Kushner tried to take over.
It was at this point, the book claims, that the heated exchange blew up. As reported by Fox News, the book claims Ms McDaniel “viewed the WinRed deal as a legacy project that could benefit the party for years to come”, and that she wanted it to remain “an arm of the RNC”.
“Jared wasn’t interested,” Mr Bender writes. “‘I don’t give a f*** about the future of the Republican Party!’ he told Ronna inside the hotel meeting room. ‘Good to know,’ Ronna shot back. ‘I will be running for chair for a second term, and I will make sure you don’t come anywhere near this!’”
Mr Kushner’s role in the Trump administration and campaign was controversial from the off, with outsiders (and some insiders) questioning why he was put in charge of immensely important matters such as Middle East peace and the procurement of protective medical equipment, despite his complete inexperience in diplomacy, public health or government of any kind.
Ms McDaniel, meanwhile, remained a staunch Trump ally throughout his administration and his re-election campaign, and remains chair of the RNC today.
