Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Retired 4-Star General Barry McCaffrey: Jared Kushner Representing America 'Simply Outrageous

Retired 4-Star General Barry McCaffrey: Jared Kushner Representing America 'Simply Outrageous
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

He's not holding back.

Retired Four-Star General Barry McCaffrey told All In With Chris Hayes that it's "simply outrageous" that Jared Kushner is acting as the United States' chief foreign emissary.


Speaking to Chris Hayes on MSNBC Wednesday night, the former general excoriated Kushner, son-in-law of and senior adviser to President Donald Trump.

McCaffrey, who has not been shy in his criticism of the Trump administration, told Hayes that Kushner being put in charge of foreign policy, specifically Middle East peace, is a danger to our country.

"Putting Jared Kushner, a 30-something person with no foreign policy experience or defense policy experience, as a leading representative of the United States is simply outrageous."

Giphy

McCaffrey also explained that Kushner's lack of a security clearance is a blatant violation of both policy and precedent.

"The officers of our government, under the constitution, have to be confirmed by the Senate whether they are ambassadors, generals or senior officials of the government," said McCaffrey. "So reading out the State Department and having one-on-one contact with Jared Kushner, by phone and in person, is a huge threat to a rational policy making process."

His comments followed breaking news on Wednesday night that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was reported to have bragged about having Kushner "in his pocket."

"One of the people MBS told about the discussion with Kushner was UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, according to a source who talks frequently to confidants of the Saudi and Emirati rulers. MBS bragged to the Emirati crown prince and others that Kushner was "in his pocket," the source told The Intercept."

McCaffrey continued to say that Kushner's intermingling of personal business ties and his role as Senior White House Adviser represent a clear conflict of interest, adding to the already historic level of nepotism inside the Trump administration.

"It just has no precedent, in my view, in American government in modern times," McCaffrey added. "This is the personalization of a family business dealing with U.S. policy."

Kushner and his foreign business interests have been making headlines again lately, as news has surfaced that his billionaire father, Charles, sought $500 million in loans from the Qatari government just weeks after Trump's inauguration.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Kushner and his associates failed to disclose the attempts to secure foreign loans to Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

The Kushners are one of the largest landlords in New York City, and their flagship building, 666 Fifth Avenue, has a $1.2 billion balloon payment due early in 2019. Kushner's pursuit of foreign loans to save his real estate empire is raising eyebrows—namely, the lack of separation between governmental affairs and personal business matters.

After Kushner failed to secure the capital his company so desperately needs, Trump abruptly upended American relations with Qatar, calling it a nation that sponsors terrorism. This threw a massive wrench into the effort to establish trade and military relations in the Middle East, which is one of the top responsibilities levied onto Kushner by the president.

More from People

Protestors hold signs during a political demonstration
Mike Newbry on Unsplash

People Who Escaped Authoritarian Governments Share How They Knew It Was Time To Go

A recent marked rise in fascist movements and authoritarian governments has been on a lot of people's minds lately. But such regimes came and went throughout our human history.

To paraphrase a common saying, those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Mike Johnson
C-SPAN

Dems LOL After Mike Johnson Heaps Outrageous Praise On Trump Following Budget Bill Passage

Democrats laughed openly after House Speaker Mike Johnson heaped praise on President Donald Trump after the "Big Beautiful Bill"—packed full of GOP priorities—passed the House of Representatives.

The bill narrowly passed the House in a 215–214 vote early in the morning, following days of marathon meetings, high-stakes negotiations stretching across Pennsylvania Avenue, and a flurry of last-minute revisions that proved essential in uniting Republicans behind the legislation.

Keep ReadingShow less
SZA
Chris Haston/WBTV via Getty Images

SZA Reveals She Had To Bribe A 'Child' Into Throwing Away His 'Whippet Drugs'

Singer SZA has sparked a conversation around drugs being marketed to kids after she revealed in an Instagram story that she got a "child" to throw away his can of whippets by offering to take a photo or video with him.

She shared a photo alongside the post, showing a brightly colored canister of Galaxy Gas—commonly known as laughing gas—labeled with a strawberry-banana flavor and packaged as a whipped cream charger.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @atrustedadult2.0's TikTok video
@atrustedadult2.0/TikTok

Mom Stunned After Job Refuses To Let Her Call Out Of Work To Take Care Of Her Sick Kids

We can all agree that when we take on a role in a workplace, we should be expected to perform our duties, show up on time, not abuse the time off policy, and generally make good contributions as a member of that company. Those are all reasonable things to expect of an employee who is being paid.

But we are all human, and sometimes things come up that are out of our control.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @rtbjj19's TikTok video
@rtbjj19/TikTok

Student Calls Out School For Using ChatGPT To Pen Parts Of Their Yearbook In Viral TikTok

Anyone who participated in the school yearbook class while they were in high school can attest to the hard work and attention to detail that goes into creating the annual yearbook.

From curating photos, documenting important events from the year, interviewing students and teachers, and creating other highlights, the yearbook is meant to be a special memento for students when they graduate.

Keep ReadingShow less