To people in the real estate community who have done business with Kushner — who presides over his father’s business empire and owns the New York Observer, a small Manhattan newspaper — the deal represented a snapshot of how he operates: as a political and policy novice who trusts his own judgment and vision and isn’t scared to plow ahead even when he knows little – much like his father-in-law, Donald Trump. Kushner is soft-spoken, mild-mannered, even a bit shy. But in New York City real estate and media circles, former colleagues and business associates paint a picture of a son-in-law who has much in common, under the surface, with the brash and braggadocious president-elect.
People who know Kushner say that like Trump, he sees himself as an outsider who, despite his Ivy League pedigree, scoffs at intellectual and cultural elites; and believes that despite a mixed business track record, he possesses a “golden touch.”…
“He drank the Kool-Aid,” shrugged one friend who supported Hillary Clinton’s campaign, but remains complimentary of Kushner. “He thought Donald had a shot at being president, and that he had a shot at helping him.” He is loyal to his family, and his view on Trump’s more extreme comments, like a Muslim ban, the friend said, is: “That’s not him. Relax, he’s just saying these things to get elected.”…
Some New York City business associates said it gives them hope that Kushner has influence in Trump’s small circle. Kushner has contributed more than $100,000 to Democrats over the years, including lawmakers who supported Obama’s decision to grant legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants Trump says he wants removed from the country.
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