Son-in-law and former senior adviser to Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, said he is backing his father-in-law for another term in 2024 because of how the former president helped the Middle East while in office.
Kushner headed Middle East policy in the Trump administration, specifically policy on peace between Palestine and Israel.
“I do think that the job [Trump] did as a foreign policy president was tremendous. Now, more and more people are beginning to recognize that,” he said in an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman released Wednesday.
He discussed Middle East policy, specifically surrounding the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which began Saturday and left thousands dead.
“Now, under President Biden, this is the second war that’s broken out in the world, and when you have weak leadership, the world becomes a less safe place,” he said. “My hope and prayers are that President Trump is reelected and that he’s able to then restore calm and peace and prosperity to the world.”
Kushner said the foreign policy goals under Trump’s administration represented the potential for the Middle East to become a significant economic and diplomatic region for the U.S.
“I do think that the region has tremendous potential, it’s just been held back by bad policy, bad leadership, bad objectives,” he said. “When President Trump left office in 2021, the Middle East was really on a very positive trajectory, and if the right things happen, it can continue to be so.”
Also in the interview, Kushner, who is Jewish, described the violence in Israel and Gaza as “heartbreaking.” He compared the attacks by Hamas to the 9/11 terror attacks in the U.S., and he called on the global community to back Israel in the conflict.
The U.S. and its Western allies are among the states that have publicly shown the most support for Israel in the wake of the attacks.
“I’m praying at this moment in time that we navigate the current crisis, that the important objectives are achieved — that we’re eliminating the terrorists and their threats,” Kushner said. “And allowing the leaders who are focused on giving their citizens and their neighbors an opportunity to live a better life are able to work together and really dream and be ambitious and find ways to create a paradigm where humans can flourish.”