Last Week Tonight with John Oliver spent his main segment last night dissecting the cryptic worlds and words of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
Some political pundits think they are a positive influence, and others who know the two better are bewildered by the level of access and involvement the pair of political neophytes have in complex political issues.
The couple hold an incredible amount of political power and each have accepted unpaid positions as assistants to the president in varying capacities.
Since this worrisome development, Kushner has had a hand in the planning and execution of the visit of the Chinese President at Mar-a-Lago. He’s also been tasked with brokering peace in the Middle East.
That’s not all, as the president wants Jared to reform the criminal justice system. He also wants Jared to run the American innovation offices where he’s responsible for reforming veteran care tackling the opioid epidemic and overseeing the not-so-small feat of revamping the entire federal government.
Oliver said: “Holy s**t! It is not unusual for powerful men to give their son-in-laws do-nothing jobs but leave it to Donald Trump, who can’t even get nepotism right, to give his a do-everything job.”
Jared’s father Charles Kushner, and his own CV, were both examined — with Jared’s Harvard admission raising eyebrows due to his not-so-fantastic grades and SAT scores.
Of the importance of having the Ivy League school on your resume, Oliver cheekily joked: “The Unibomber went to Harvard, Ted Cruz went to Harvard!”
Oliver also examined how Kushner overpaid for the 666 5th Avenue building back in 2007, when he bought it with bank loans for $1.8 billion.
The financial crisis ensued and occupancy rates nosedived. Kushner has been hat in hand with investors to be rescued so the troubled building can stay afloat. Just recently, a Chinese investor firm backed out of a cash infusion.
The mollifying effects that people believe Ivanka has on her unpredictable father were also stripped down and analyzed by Oliver.
And he warned people not to believe the idea that Ivanka is the sane power behind the throne.
He said: “You may still like Ivanka and that’s fine. She can be appealing and that’s frankly not by accident.
“She’s been trained in the art of Trump branding to be as vague and likable as possible so that everyone can plausibly think that she shares their values, whether or not that’s actually true.
“And if that sounds like a harsh thing for me to say about her I will point out she’s basically shared that message in one of her books”
Oliver read an excerpt from Ivanka’s 2009 book The Trump Card, which says: “Perception is more important than reality. If someone perceives something to be true, it is more important than if it is in fact true.
“This doesn’t mean you should be duplicitous or deceitful but don’t go out of your way to correct a false assumption if it plays to your advantage.”
Incredulous, Oliver said: “She is pretty much telling you to your face not to trust any assumption that you are liking about her, so it is possible that she is doing nothing to moderate her father.”
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver airs Sunday at 11pm ET/PT on HBO.