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June 4, 2019

Kushner Refuses to Disavow Birtherism, Defends Trump Tower Mtg., Says Palestine Not Ready to Self-Govern
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Presidential adviser Jared Kushner is causing waves after a rare
televised interview on "Axios with HBO," in which he defended the
policies of his father-in-law, President Trump. Axios interviewer
Jonathan Swan repeatedly pressed Kushner on whether he believes Trump is
a racist - citing Trump's repeated false claims that President Barack
Obama was not born in the United States.

Jonathan Swan: "Was birtherism racist?"

Jared Kushner: "Um, look, I wasn't really involved in that."

Jonathan Swan: "I know you weren't. Was it racist?"

Jared Kushner: "Like I said, I wasn't involved in that."

Jonathan Swan: "I know you weren't. Was it racist?"

Jared Kushner: "Look, I know who the president is, and I have not seen
anything in him that is racist. So, again, I was not involved in that."

Jonathan Swan: "Did you wish he didn't do that?"

Jared Kushner: "Like I said, I was not involved in that. That was a long
time ago."

Jared Kushner also said he doesn't know if he'd alert the FBI if he
received an email similar to the one that prompted the Trump Tower
meeting in 2016, in which a lawyer connected to the Russian government
offered to provide dirt about Hillary Clinton to the Trump campaign.
Kushner said he did not tell the FBI at the time of the 2016 incident
because he was busy.

Asked if Palestinians are capable of governing an independent nation,
Kushner said, "The hope is, is that over time, they can become capable
of governing."


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