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Mary Trump has some blunt words for cousin Ivanka

Mary Trump and Ivanka Trump
Mary and Ivanka Trump (Photo: Simon & Schuster, Peter Serling/Shutterstock)

A clip of Jared Kushner has gone viral online over the last 24 hours.

Kushner, a former advisor to the White House while Donald Trump was President (who also happens to be married to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka), appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast.

Kushner spoke of his attitude toward solving challenges in life. He suggested part of his success was due to always finding a way of getting what he wanted.

“If you want to accomplish something, you know, I hear a lot of people complain about what other people do, or why it’s hard or why it’s impossible, and again I say this as someone who’s been so blessed with so many things in life. But when I’ve had challenges or things I wanted to achieve, I just focus and say ‘What can I do?’

“And I’ll read everything I can get my hands on. If I fail at one thing… if the door closes, I’ll try the window; if the window closes, I’ll try the chimney; if the chimney’s closed, I’ll try and dig a tunnel! If you want to accomplish something, you just have to go at it.”

Kushner’s wife, Ivanka, was among those to share the video. She said it demonstrated one of the things she loves about her husband.

“I personally love this clip as it reveals the determined optimist who firmly believes that there’s always a solution if you’re willing to try enough paths,” Ivanka said. “I love this about Jared… and it’s a good reminder as we start the new year!”

Mary brings Ivanka back down to earth

Both Ivanka and Kushner come from extremely privileged backgrounds. Both benefitted enormously from Donald Trump’s spell in the White House.

Among those to criticize the clip was Ivanka’s own cousin, Mary Trump. The psychologist and writer is the daughter of Donald Trump’s late brother, Fred Jr. She has long been a critic of Donald Trump and his elder children. She wrote the 2020 memoir, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.

Mary tweeted, “There’s nothing like 2 billion dollars in Saudi blood money to keep you optimistic.”

The Saudi money

Mary’s tweet refers to how Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from a Saudi crown prince-led fund just months after Donald Trump left the White House.

The money went to Kushner’s then newly-launched private equity firm, Affinity Partners. The size of the investment raised eyebrows and questions about why exactly the fund, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was investing such a vast sum in an equity fund with little track record.

Unsurprisingly, Ivanka chose to close her comments section, minimizing replies. However, many were quick to comment on Mary’s tweet and elsewhere online.

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