Jared Kushner was not your typical White House aide.
Sure, he was former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, married to first daughter Ivanka Trump, a Kennedy-esque show of high-level nepotism. But unlike other top presidential aides before him with Oval Office access, he worked quietly behind the scenes, surviving multiple political hits to become one of the most influential advisers in recent memory.
Just ask the Secret Service. According to Kushner’s memoir, Breaking History, they code-named him “Mechanic.” The reason: “They had observed me quietly and methodically fixing problems behind the scenes.”
With little political and policy experience, Kushner ran into a buzz saw of controversies stirred by his enemies early on, notably Steve Bannon. But he didn’t quit. Instead, on one quiet weekend, he had White House carpenters seal the door between his and Bannon’s office.
And he didn’t harbor ill will. After Bannon was dumped and faced his own legal challenges, Kushner cleared the way for Bannon to be pardoned, he wrote.
“What do you think I should do with Bannon?” Trump asked Kushner days before leaving the White House. “You know me. I’m a softy. I err on the side of mercy,” he responded.
“Seriously?” replied Trump. “You would really be for that? After everything he did to you?” Kushner said, “I don’t forget, but I do forgive.”
In his four years, Kushner was Trump’s playmaker, his fingerprints on most major achievements starting with Trump’s 2016 election and including rewriting the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact, passing criminal sentencing reform, speeding up the COVID-19 response, pushing immigration initiatives, coaxing Israel and Arab nations into the Abraham Accords, and even paving the way for Trump to cross alone into North Korea with Kim Jong Un.
After the first Abraham Accord between Israel and the United Arab Emirates was signed, Trump sized up his relationship with Kushner during a small and private celebration. “Jared’s a genius,” Trump said. “People complain about nepotism — I’m the one who got the steal here.”
Kushner played it straight. “Maybe in the future, more presidents will haze their sons-in-law by tasking them with impossible problems.”
His book, provided to Secrets in advance of the Aug. 23 release, clocks in at nearly 500 pages. But it is an easy read, reveals the lessons he learned from Trump, and includes anecdotes about his wife and key staffers.
For example, when he first started dating Ivanka, Trump told him, “I just hope you’re serious because Ivanka is in an amazing place in her life right now. You know, Tom Brady is a good friend of mine and had been trying to take Ivanka out.” Kushner responded, “If I were Ivanka, I’d go with Tom Brady.” Sighed Trump, “Yeah, I know.”
He also showed an unusual ability to build a close and effective staff. He met his top aide, Avi Berkowitz, for example, in a pickup basketball game in 2011. He liked his game and asked him to intern at Kushner Companies. “He was the first person I hired at the White House,” Kushner wrote.
Kushner said his outlook, unusual in Washington, helped him to survive and thrive. “Don’t look back, look forward.”
