Former President Donald Trump said he doesn’t want his daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, to join his potential second administration.
“I said, that’s enough for the family. You know why? It’s too painful for the family,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier aired on June 20.
“My family’s been through hell. ... Eric, my son, who’s a fine boy, you know him very well. He’s a fine young man, good student, good everything, comes in. We’re doing beautifully, then I decide to run for president. I don’t think anybody in the world in history has ever had more subpoenas sent to him,” he said.
“Nobody has been through what my family has been through. Ivanka had a really successful line of clothing, I mean, making a fortune. When I did this, she was really—she closed it up. She sort of felt she had to, but she closed it up.”
In a statement released after the sentence, The Trump Organization denied any wrongdoing.
“These politically motivated prosecutors will stop at nothing to get President Trump and continue the never ending witch-hunt which began the day he announced his presidency,” it said. “We did nothing wrong and we will appeal this verdict.”
Trump, who has steadfastly maintained his innocence in the probe and other cases, has asserted that he has been targeted by witch hunts amid his 2024 campaign. Polls suggest Trump is currently a frontrunner for the Republican Party’s nomination for president in the 2024 election.
“I love my father very much. This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics,” Ivanka Trump said last November. “While I will always love and support my father, going forward, I will do so outside the political arena. I am grateful to have had the honor of serving the American people and will always be proud of many of our administration’s accomplishments.”
Ivanka, who didn’t present at her father’s announcement ceremony at Mar-a-Lago, added that she’s “extremely close” with her father and that “will never change.” However, she doesn’t want to return to the political arena.
“I’ve had many roles over the years, but that of daughter is one of the most elemental and consequential. I am loving this time with my kids, loving life in Miami and the freedom and privacy with having returned to the private sector. This has been one of the greatest times of my life,” she said.
Her husband Jared Kushner, who served as Trump’s senior White House adviser but who has drawn significant criticism from right-wing figures, has not publicly commented on whether he would be part of the campaign.
“Contrary to Fake News reporting, I never asked Jared or Ivanka to be part of the 2024 Campaign for President and, in fact, specifically asked them not to do it — too mean and nasty with the Fake & Corrupt News and having to deal with some absolutely horrendous SleazeBags in the world of politics, and beyond,” Trump said last December on Trump Social.
