Donald Trump’s campaign denies he scolded his Jewish son-in-law over Israel visit
Published April 4, 2016
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, standing on with his wife Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner (left to right) at a campaign rally at the Ramada Waterloo Hotel and Convention Center in Waterloo, Iowa, Feb. 1, 2016. (Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Donald Trump’s campaign denied a report that he reprimanded his Jewish son-in-law after a planned visit to Israel fell through because of the candidate’s controversial comments on Muslims.
New York magazine, in a profile of the front-runner in the race for the Republican presidential nod, reported Sunday that Trump was upset with Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, for suggesting the visit.
“‘This was all your idea!’ Trump scolded his son-in-law, according to a source,” the magazine reported.
In an email to JTA, however, campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks wrote: “This is totally and unequivocally false. The story was not fact checked.”
Trump canceled the visit, planned for late December, after Netanyahu said on Dec. 9 that he “rejected” the real estate magnate’s remarks about Muslims, saying Israel “respects all religions.”
Trump had called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. He later said Netanyahu’s statement was “inappropriate.”
According to the New York profile, Kushner and Ken Kurson, the editor of the New York Observer, which Kushner owns, wrote Trump’s speech last month to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual conference. The speech was well received.
