Trump defends choice of Kushner for France envoy

US President-elect Donald Trump defended his choice of Charles Kushner for US ambassador to France, describing him as a “family member” and a “very successful man” in an interview released on Wednesday, December 11.

“It’s a great thing because he’s in our family,” Trump told the French magazine Paris Match in the interview conducted Saturday. “Essentially a family member of mine is coming to France, I am not sure it’s happening anywhere else. We have a lot of ambassadorships.”

Trump nominated Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, as the US envoy to France in November. The choice is in keeping with Trump’s pattern of selecting people, often wealthy, who are close to his family or have proven their loyalty.

The elder Kushner, 70, is a multimillionaire real estate executive and former attorney. He was handed a two-year sentence – most of it served in a federal prison – after pleading guilty in 2004 to 18 counts of tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions.

But in 2020 he was granted a presidential pardon by Trump during his first term in office. Trump described Kushner as a “very successful man.” “And he’s a very good friend of mine, too. And it’s something he really wanted to do. He feels so strongly about it. This was his first choice, by far.”

‘Friendly ally’

Trump visited Paris for Saturday’s re-opening of Notre-Dame cathedral on his first international trip since his re-election. Trump described France as “a friend and an ally” and said he had “always” had a good relationship with President Emmanuel Macron. “It’s a beautiful country, it’s an elegant country,” he added.

Trump said trade and military issues would be a priority in the two countries’ relations. “We are going to do a lot of business with France,” he said. “You already do a wonderful business with your wines and champagnes.”

He said he wanted to stay in France “much longer” but added that he had to prepare for Inauguration Day on January 20. “January 20 will be a good day for France.”

He praised French people and Macron for rebuilding Notre-Dame, describing the 2019 blaze that nearly burned it down as a “terrible thing to watch.”

“I’ve never seen anything quite like it, other than the World Trade Center, of course,” he added. “It was a very tough reconstruction,” he said. “I know so much about construction.”

He drew parallels between the resilience of Notre-Dame and his own political fate. “It’s resilience, getting it done, getting it built,” he said. “Oh I know all about it,” he chuckled. “I became president again. I guess it’s pretty resilient also.”