Presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, who somehow has a senior White House position, called Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman and his royal court “a very good ally” who had “a couple of missteps,” in a Newsweek interview.
Exclusive: Jared Kushner gets candid about struggling Trump campaign, Mideast peace and more: https://t.co/GbfDlH9CIq pic.twitter.com/gbJIpikwYI
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) July 20, 2020
Bin Salman, known as MbS, is the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and the de facto leader of the country in a time of time when the Islamic nation has cracked down violently on dissent, including being suspected in the assassination and dismemberment of a US-based Saudi journalist, Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi.
A close friend of MbS, Kushner intervened during an oil pricing war between the Saudis and the Russians that plummeted the price of oil worldwide, hurting US oil producers. Kushner called MbS to ensure a steady rise in prices by asking the Saudi prince to cut production.
Saying that he’s not a “political strategist,” Kushner nonetheless helped put together the campaign team that leads Trump’s reelection efforts. Polls currently show Trump trailing presumptive Democratic nominee by a large margin, but Kushner calls those polls “all b.s.” according to Newsweek.
“I’m not a political strategist but I know what the message is: He may not be the politically correct one, but he gets things done. The strategy side matters more in the last 90 days,” he said.