Thirty-six years old and born into the Manhattan real estate game, Jared Kushner shares President Trump’s background. But like the president, he isn’t exactly a foreign policy expert.
Still, Kushner’s been doing a lot of traveling since January. In April, he joined the chairman of the Joint Chiefs on a trip to Iraq. That was just the start. These days, Kushner is at the top of the foreign invitations list.
On Tuesday, for example, we learned that China has invited Kushner and his wife, Ivanka, to visit later this year. And this Wednesday, Kushner will travel for talks with Israeli and the Palestinian leaders.
It’s clear that Kushner is now a de facto second secretary of state.
What we’re seeing in Kushner’s empowerment is President Trump’s fixation on loyalty. Trump knows that he can trust his son-in-law to serve his agenda. But he also knows that Kushner can offer something Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cannot: privacy.
After all, whenever Tillerson goes abroad, he does so with a vast staff of aides, advisers, journalists and Diplomatic Security agents. His foreign travels take a huge amount of preparatory work and logistics.
Kushner? He packs a bag and gets on a plane with a small Secret Service detail. That distinction means Kushner can undertake sensitive discussions without leaks or State Department influence. It’s notable, for example, that Kushner and not Tillerson is heading to Israel.
Trump knows that the Israeli government is deeply — albeit privately — uncomfortable with his Palestinian peace push. Trump knows that were Tillerson to lead the trip, any disagreements would likely reach the public’s attention. And for a president obsessed with perception and image, embarrassment is to be avoided at all costs.
That said, there are real costs to Kushner’s evolving role. There’s a reason, after all, that the U.S. government has a Department of State: it allows us to conduct diplomacy effectively through expert professionals. Whatever his privacy limitations might be, Tillerson benefits from the fact that wherever he goes, he has regional experts advising him on the issues. Kushner lacks that context.
Of course, from foreign perspectives, Secretary Kushner is a good thing. His visits offer foreign governments a key benefit that Tillerson does not: A personal connection point to the president.
Foreign leaders are already aware that Trump responds warmly to praise and poorly to perceived insult. Correspondingly, they believe that making a good impression on Kushner will win Trump’s favor. And that cuts to the heart of the issue.
Ultimately, Kushner’s appeal is not about Kushner. It’s about the perception that Kushner is an extension of the president. And knowing Trump’s unpredictability, foreign governments want to maximize their lines of communication to the White House.
