Sorry I know I'm supposed to ignore the clothing that women wear, but any woman who wears the outfit Kloss wore to the Met gala and expects to be taken seriously is in for a big surprise. Let's just imagine Josh in the male equivalent. No, I'm not saying she is "asking for it" in a sexual sense, but I am saying that you can't pretend to be serious in an intellectual sense and go out in public in such a ridiculous outfit and find anyone who thinks you have even half of a brain. As for Josh, remember that he's still part of the Kushner clan. I'll bet money that if you went beyond the glitz and glamour you would find just as much muck as that which surrounds Jared and Ivanka.
44
Comparing the Kushner Klan with Will, Kate, et.al.? What an insult to the Brits. It was the media that hyped us about Javanka being the "progressive voice" in Trump's nut house, but it's always been clear to many of us that Ivanka is only a better looking and better sounding version of her father. The core value of these people are the same: a buck for me at any cost to others. I hope Josh and Karlie and Tiffany are not just another media hype.
40
Honestly, I had never heard of Karlie Kloss (or Joshua Kushner) until I read this article. As I understand it, she is some kind of super model. She is 6'2", looks anorexic (she is pictured wearing a haute couture dinner napkin at the 2016 Met Gala), and is not intimidated by the Trump clan. She is bright, independent, and pays attention to what is going on in the world, and she seems to care. Maybe a bit of her lucidity can rub off on our America First Family.
26
Thanks Maureen for this info. I like Katie & even Joshua a little. It gives me hope that after Jared & the Trumps go to jail the USA can recover via people like Karlie.
8
Bad news: Karlie will never be your best friend, Mo. Thank her PR machine and send them on their way.
20
Thanks Maureen for such an illuminating article, and for your contribution to getting us in this mess... but we coulnd’t get past her emails and Bill, could we? Anyway, who knew that basket of deplorables (and deplorables they are) was made out of gold.
27
I don't think it is anyone's business if Ivanka and/or Karlie convert to Judaism. This column reaches new lows for Maureen Dowd and the enabling NYT editors .
Shame
13
Had Trump never gotten the nomination, Jared and Ivanka would have been out there supporting whomever the Democrats nominated. The pity for them is that first, they thought they might be elevated by their positions and have an influence on Le Pere and then discovered not only had they no influence but were going to have to be supportive and thus tarnished. Why Jared thought he was capable of executing any of his missions, however, makes me think that he really thought he was capable of doing what Trump tossed to him, which, as is also true of Dr. Ronny Jackson's acceptance of the VA secretary post, is the first evidence that he had no business doing the job.
9
Between these two Brothers, Josh seems to have a good head on his shoulder, in looks and smarts.
Jared is the fool particularly when he opens his large mouth which we have seen only once or twice.
My question is why is he still in charge of so many venues when his security clearance has been downgraded ?
But, evidently Jarvanka are shameless, id spite of all the personal ridicules they are still hanging around, pretending to be still the Jack of all.
As if their opinion matters !
10
What a RELIEF to read something pleasant and interesting about one member of the Kushner clan and his inspiring lady, who seem to have human, social and intellectual values that are not dependent on the number of zeros in their bank accounts.
And also to find a man in the closer orbit of the Trump/Kushner circle who seems to be ok with the 'uninflated' chest size of his leading lady....
12
The Kushner parents would do better to focus on the Talmud teaching that the first question that will be asked of a deceased person is: Were you honest in business dealings?
53
From what I have read Kushner's religion is money, just the fact they would not distance themselves from Trump.
20
I remember thinking that people should give Tiffany some slack. I picked up something about her. So on this weekend of multiple holidays-- that people observe and don't--I wish her all the best. And I hope she keeps looking for love in all the right places.
10
I am slightly befuddled as to the "religiousness" of Charles Kushner & Jared Kushner. They do not seem to practice what they dictate. Karlie's religion is her business. She is a strong woman with great integrity & inner decency. If I were a Kushner parent, her attributes would be a refreshing change for the family. Mixed religions among married couples are well known to be happy and long lasting. A marriage is based on love, respect, loyalty, and integrity. Not a religious conversion that is forced.
In addition, this is 2018. Many pre-nups include raising the children in the religion of one of the parents. No one deserves "pressure" to convert. My opinion is such bullying makes for much trouble and too many resentments down the road. The Kushner "parents" have no business interfering in Karlie's choice, or Josh's choice to marry the woman he loves. The "bullying" by Charles Kushner is well documented in Criminal Courts.
Enough.
36
Generally, I enjoy & cheer on Maureen's columns. But puleeze, Maureen, don't even suggest any comparisons (even in jest) between the traditional 1400 yr old history which draw brothers Will & Harry together with the temporary, ephemeral, public impressions of the corrupt Kushners of America. Kushner is a here today, gone tomorrow token of the broken American politic. Prince Will actually is in line to be King.
27
It looks like the Kushners and Ivanka are trying to do damage control with this media coverage. Between Ms Dowd's piece and the other NYTimes article about them, they are trying to paint themselves as separate from the Trump administration and stem any investigations into their company, holdings, or business ventures. One may call me skeptical but they are very shrewd; they have the money for it and the money to protect their interests.
19
What makes this interesting is the juxtaposition with that pair in the White House. Josh and Karlie sound more independent-minded and I hope the only opinion about conversion that matters to Karlie is Josh's. They sound like a good match and I'll be pulling for them to have a meaningful, happy life together without interference from people of less character.
7
Jarvanka and Klossy Posse are the cute bartenders and life guards from our teenage years. We’ll outgrow the crush or come to our senses.
12
Honestly, I am not
religious, I am tolerant
of lifestyles, feel that
people should
do what they want as long
as no one is hurt. Considering
that the Kushner family
is religiously observant, the rather
blatant immodest dress of the
partner of their son is a red flag
of disrespect. They do put themselves
in the cross-hairs of the media
therefore they are subject to
a certain judgement. Just saying...
8
That’s an interesting observation. Ivanka’s style became much more conservative after she married. I assumed that was the move of a very style-and-image-obsessed woman staging herself as Wife and Mother. But it could have to do with her conversion (to Orthodox Judaism and to Kushnerism).
3
Never heard of Ms. Kloss.
I've heard though of Emma Gonzalez.
If there is "a First Daughter of the Resistance, indeed if there is a first woman of the resistance, it is Ms. Gonzalez.
66
Every faith suffers hypocrites. Orthodox Judaism is no exception, and Jvanka are glaring examples of it. Fame and fortune have smiled on Josh and Karlie, and one can always speculate just how deserving they may be, but I give them credit for making sincere efforts to define their purpose in life as more than creating a brand and making as much money as possible using any means at their disposal.
14
Jarvanka pulled into Cheyenne WY Friday to travel to a mountain village about 150 miles west, Saratoga, home to some old money republican donors. Private jets and celebrity sightings are not unusual topics there. I noticed the Trump jet when I went to the post office and stopped a bit to watch a steady stream of trump fans drive in to snap a pic, many looking somewhere in the vicinity of giddy at the opportunity. They looked like good solid people, plain and modest, mostly in the fifty-plus age range, almost hurrying away after a brief gander and snapshot, as if they didn’t quite belong there. All this for a couple of Fifth Avenue celebrities who wouldn’t bother to spit on them if they were on fire.
42
" All this for a couple of Fifth Avenue celebrities who wouldn’t bother to spit on them if they were on fire."
The Javankas are in the WH for their own self-serving agenda and ambition. They could careless about any of us.
As for Trump "fans", they are winning...right!
And not just any winning though....it's winning bigly.
15
Give me a break! With Trump and his incompetent administration trying to turn this country into a third world oligarchy, I'm supposed to care about rich young people who never had a financial worry in their lives?
There are people who work hard and barely make ends meet. Others live in neighborhoods where gunfire is a nightly event. Some of our fellow citizens don't have clean water in their homes!
On this Easter Sunday, let's try to keep our priorities straight.
40
(Tiffany Trump, for her part, liked a post on Instagram showing a guy holding a sign that said “Next massacre will be the GOP in the midterm elections.”)
Interesting. I have often wondered what Tiffany honestly feels about her father's constant overreaching - after all, she IS the product of one of his indiscretions, one that went - albeit briefly - legit.
11
"It’s a perfect illustration of the riven state of the country right now, where all manner of Americans... are glaring at each other over an insurmountable fence."
Trump and fam just cannot stop with the walls, be they real or metaphorical. And as evidenced by this op-ed, the media doesn't help break them down, either.
4
Javanka are damaged goods.Jared partly because he,more so than his brother, was intimately involved in the businesses that made his father a felon and showed him to be as inept at business as his father in law when he purchased 666 Fifth Avenue.Ivanka because her values character were shaped by a father completely devoid of morals or principles.The irony is that while they both remain economically dependent on their respective fathers, the other Kushner and his partner were independently successful in areas unrelated to the father's sorry businesses and therefore more independent in their thinking and beliefs.It is the complete interdependence of the Trump family that makes it's members stoop so low in an attempt to curry favor with a despicable role model.
9
A waste of time, this column. America really has no interest in models, New York socialites or the Kushner family, with the federal convict dad who has the nerve to impose religious beliefs on the daughters-in-law. And by the way Jared didn't "get more ensnared" in the Russia corruption. Investigations have found substantial allegations that he was in the thick of the Russia manipulations all along.
22
One small step for humankind, but every little bit helps in jamming the gears of Trump's backward march to monarchy, incivility, inequality, injustice, and the Dark Ages.
Glad to hear Josh and Karlie are openly bucking King D.J. Trump. Given Trump's obsession with loyalty and adoration, I hope the lack of family obedience drives Trump nuts. Oh wait, we passed that point a long time ago.
Keep up the good work Josh, Karlie, and maybe Tiffany too!
6
It seems non-involved children are indeed fair game so long as their father is deemed unworthy. Jared and Ivanka put themselves in the limelight so fair is fair, but for the rest of the clan - they seem little different that the boorish and entitled New Yorkers the rest of us have to deal with.
2
Javanka please resign your sham positions and go back to your home state. While Donald Trump is apparently dismantling our democracy Javank’s inaction as presedential advisers is appalling.
6
Not interested in the society page aspects of the Trumps and Kushners. While we're being distracted by gossip and tweets, the cabinet is dismantling government and the Republicans are chiseling away at checks and balances and judicial review.
21
Thanks Maureen, It's good to know that not all the apples are bad in the Trump-Kushner barrel.
3
What I really don't get; How is a free, taxpayer funded trip to Olympics in South Korea any kind of "accomplishment"? It looks to me more of a pork, brand building photo op. That we pay for.
22
Pork or perk. Both work here.
8
Poor Josh. He has a brother Jared who is married to a Trump. As they say, you can choose your friends but not your family. I feel your pain and embarrassment. At least you got to talk to your employees personally. While Jared is stuck in the mud partially due to his ineptness and mostly due to his father-in-law, Trump.
Poor Jared. He chose a Trump for his family.
3
What, exactly, is the point of this article? Why, exactly, should we care about these people?
Jared and Ivanka are useless, and anyone who ever anticipated that they, with the 100 percent lack of any relevant experience, would do any good in Washington was mistaken from the start.
Josh Kushner and Karlie Kloss are private citizens (albeit very rich ones, which I realize, in our country today, makes their views more important than those of us ordinary mortals).
Still, I cannot feel as if Maureen could have found something more relevant to write about this week, other than producing what reads like a slightly more intelligent NY Daily News Page 6 article.
28
I think articles about the families of politicians are a distraction. Ivanka and Jared are fair game because POTUS foolishly brought them into his administration. The six degrees of separation game is gossip for the tabloids.
7
Ah, a good, old-fashioned, high society gossip column to have with my April Fool's Day breakfast. It's good to know there are some divisions within the Trump-Kushner syndicate - may the chasms widen.
Unfortunately, Jared and Ivanka, those two bumbling but empowered mediocrities, continue to be in a position to do real damage, especially the princeling. But hope springs eternal and, god-willing, they'll be skulking back to New York soon as the old man's - and Jared's- legal woes grow worse.
Lastly, Maureen Dowd, thank for starting my AFD on a positive, humorous note - sorely need in these bizarre times. But, please, "Javanka" and the "Klossie Posse"? I hope these tag lines go away quickly - America has had too many of these catchy catch-alls in the past few decades. In fact, I'll be happier and healthier if I never hear of any these people again, however they're labeled.
93
I would hope that Josh Kushner would protect his girlfriend from the thuggish demands of his parents that she "convert" to a religion that she clearly does not believe in. If she is good enough for him to date, apparently for some time, he should have enough respect for her to support her against his parents. If he can't do that, then the question of where his loyalties will lie when they are married becomes a relevant concern.
11
Jarred is a man child created in the image of his father-in-law. A perfect Freudian match for Ivanka, except that he seems (seems!) to be able to hold his libido in check.
This means that he was born on second base but is so deluded that he thinks he hit a home run. He is the child of a criminal, and while Fred Trump was never convicted by the Justice Department, it was simply for having more guile and luck. And without selling influence, Jared would likely go bankrupt because of the appropriately addressed 666 5th Avenue property. And let us not forget that his financial empire is built as a slumlord.
Then there is his financial support for the illegal and immoral West Bank settlements and the cozy relationship with the corrupt Netanyahu.
Jared Kushner is prince among men; a shining credit to his faith.
9
It is completely naive to believe there was ever any purpose to Javanka joining the White House other than as a means to use inside connections and leverage to increase their personal fortunes. The "portfolios" were are are a complete sham.
13
Are readers supposed to care about this couple? Their politics might differ from Javanka, but they still travel in the same circle of upper class swells who know little about the struggles of everyday Americans.
8
Camelot, it’s NOT! Whether “Jarvanka” and/vs “KushKlossa” this crew is hard to figure or root for. With such messily evil parents it is difficult to take them at face value. You know what they say about the apple not ‘rolling far from the tree.’ It’s also hard to believe any of these folks have street cred since they fell out of their cradles and ended up on third base! Seems their only ways to go from here would be down! Given security clearance downgrades, 666 5th Ave, and Ivanka being laughed out of Europe as an emissary that game plan appears to be well under way. Besides, with Charles Kushner‘s track record it would be cautionary to take his advice about anything! (BTW, we’re still waiting for all that spectacular “innovation” we’ve been promised!). Now we know why most of the truly mega wealthy prefer anonymity! Now, what exactly was this article supposed to be about, anyway?
5
So are Seryl and Charles Kushner, the parents of Josh and Jared, Liberal or Conservative? I have known Orthodox Jews who were Liberal.
3
Wow! Now THAT is how you make an entrance.
She is by heritage Polish, Dutch and German. That's like the trifecta for a job as a super model.
Actually, she sounds like a young Hillary Clinton, passionately devoted to her causes and not afraid to have and speak her own mind.
5
My Mother-In Law who survived the Lodz ghetto and lived through several of the worst camps in the Holocaust with unspeakable memories ( age 14 -20) thought that people who felt compelled to be strident in their views toward being required to be Jewish smacked of what was done to her. Her son and I( Irish Catholic) have been together for 30 years. Thank you Vera Stein Werner
155
If the Kushner elders are proud of their Jewish heritage and are descendants of Holocaust survivors, they should worry less about converting in-laws and more about denouncing Donald Trump, who encourages white supremacists in particular and bigotry in general. Jared Kushner's enabling of Trump's rise is a slap in the face to their familial story.
279
A thousand times, yes!!!!
25
Am just hoping some serious jail time will soon wipe Jared's smug smirk off his face. While Jared & Ivanka both seem to be apples fallen from their respective fathers' trees (both as rotten to the core as their fathers), it would be unfair to tar Joshua (or Karlie) with the same label.
8
Hard to feel sorry for them with all their money.... while they get to play at ruining other people's lives...
1
I’m not sure where the idea came from that Ivanka and Jared were ever seen as “a ray of light” in the White House. That’s not the way I remember it.
I question Ms. Dowd’s choice of supplemental details, too. Why mention that Joshua and Karlie are both about 6’2”? Why mention, as a parenthetical aside, that his parents were Holocaust survivors? Is that to excuse them for being hardliners on the conversion of the “shiksa” trophy mates their sons chose? If so, why shoot that implied halo down by mentioning the senior Kushner’s shenanigans? Such mixed messages here!
And then we must consider the (carefully selected) photos. Why choose a shot of Karlie wearing a dress barely bigger than a Bandaid? The creepy, smug mug on Jared explains why you picked his photo, but the other one confuses me. Why throw darts at Karlie Kloss? She doesn’t have a dog in this fight...yet.
I think I need a Tums after reading this piece. Too much acid simmering beneath the surface.
7
Sorry...that should have read, “his grandparents were Holocaust survivors.”
Also wanted to mention that — Instagram-post liking aside — it’s very odd how little black-sheep Tiffany Trump has been in the news. I think she must have gotten some money from her papa to behave herself.
2
Ahem....
Well, for starters, I have to say that what the Times allows visually is much more "explicit" than anything we in Comments are permitted in written form. Makes one wonder what will be permissible when "videoments" supplant our current one-dimensional form of communication, no?
To be blunt, I'm not sure (and I've never been accused of being prudish), that JosKar are a positive role couple for our --again, Ahem-- quest for...transparency?... from the Trump administration.
The very rich are different from you and me.
3
"It’s a perfect illustration of the riven state of the country right now, where all manner of Americans — from the Kushners to my family to the characters on “Roseanne” — are glaring at each other over an insurmountable fence."
Why didn't you just say it Maureen? Trump has built his fantasy wall. Not along the border with Mexico, but inside America...between Americans.
The Trump Wall is an insurmountable barrier separating American patriotss from Trumpsters. On one-side Americans uphold values, social responsibility, love of thy neighbor, traditions, the promise America represents, for all; on the other-side, Trump leads Republicans in chants of hatred towards those on the other side of the wall. Their vision of America is a white man conclave of Evangelical Christian hypocrites inside an armed bunker.
And on the subject of walls...Trump is responsible for another wall. Trump, with the aid of the Trumpican Congress, has isolated America from the global community. It is not he who has built a wall to keep America safe, rather it is the world that has built a wall around America, penning a rabid America in. America is not welcome, except by the usual suspects.
Also, nice to know that some in the Kushner family are on our side of the wall.
6
Really, Maureen, casually referring to “shiksas” now?
“The etymology of the word shiksa is partly derived from the Hebrew term shekets, meaning "abomination", "impure," or "object of loathing", depending on the translatotion.”
This is not dissimilar to other racist and misogynistic ideology.
“Several dictionaries define "shiksa" as a disparaging and offensive term applied to a non-Jewish girl or woman.”
There is no such term for a non Jewish man, they are lumped together as “gentiles” or the more derogatory “goyim”. Thus, the delineation of shiksa also has sexual connotations of impurity, archaic and anachronistic in today’s culture.
That the Kushners are so obsessed and unnerved by their son’s choice of non Jewish women is telling and quite frankly, offensive.
11
Not that I disagree with the sentiment, but there is an equally offensive word in Yiddish for non-Jewish males: shaygetz
8
I see, thank you Stephanie!
1
Ivanka Trump praises dissembling as one of of the best business strategies in her books, That's all she does. She supports his racism and his bullying. She supports his misogyny. You can't go much lower.
8
If Josh owns a multi-billion dollar company, why is he not doing something to help out the family business? If he is close enough with Jared to visit the White House, and close enough to his parents to expect his girlfriend to de-shiksa herself for the clan, why not?
Is it possible we are overhyping this young couple just the same way we did Javanka and others whom we have lined up to save us?
4
I do admit, when I see a pic of Karkush, I don't get the same feeling of revulsion and nausea as when I see a pic of Javanka.
4
I guess I am not smart enough to understand the significance of this ‘compare and contrast’ exercise. Javanka are useless to me and the American people as are his brother and girlfriend.
6
It’s pretty laughable to associate a scion of so-called Orthodox Jews with a dress like KK’s. And teaching kids coding instead of Tikkun Olam just speaks to careerism instead of values. I prefer the Parkland kids.
3
Human nature being what it is, I find myself ready to comment on the brothers K posing before the JFK portrait, the Swiss cheese dress, Ivanka's diplomacy in South Korea, Jared's security clearance and real estate deals in New York, and religious conversion and the juice fast comment. This being Passover and Easter, I'll refrain, with a single, Who cares?
6
Hurrah for the good Kushner and Kloss. They are by no means regular people, but they espouse some decency. As for Javanka look only to the father-in-law to know how traitorous and indecent they are. Hoping for Jared's indictment on espionage. Ivanka can visit him in a state prison (if daddy/husband pardons).
3
I am not quite sure why Dowd wrote this. Are we now supposed to put our hope for public education, gun control, DACA folks, peace in our time, staunching climate change, etc. in the hands of some other billionaire and his swanky girl friend? Absurd. Hope needs to be placed in the vote, the constitution, and the collective efforts of people who value the future of their children and our species over their own greed.
133
Are Jared and Ivanka 'Ken' and 'Barbie? Or 'Lil Abner' and 'Daisy Mae'? Is Jared 'Alfred E. Newman?
Are the sons of the convicted felon Charles Kushner Jared and Josh Kushner the avatars of 'Sonny' and 'Michael' Corleone?
Is Karlie Kloss all natural born Chicago IIlinois American model modest girlfriend?
Is Joshua Kushner single white male playboy inherited wealth American by nature and nurture?
If we needed or wanted princes and princesses we could have stuck with the House of Windsor.
7
Jared has roots in the holocaust, then gleefully engineers an arms sale to one of Israel’s biggest enemies, and this is after getting Chris Christie canned and humiliated for his role in sending his father to jail. All the while his wife has to endure comments from her fathers mistresses about how much they look like her before he takes them to bed. Creepy, repellent people who need to go away.
14
I'm not sure what to make of this and at this point I don't care. All I know is that Trump and his family are incompetent and have no business running our country. They are a disgrace and what they are doing is worthy of a bad reality TV show but not the realities of running a government.
19
Maybe Karlie and Josh can meet in the middle. Become atheist socialists who devote their lives to transforming the world. They don't need to take vows of poverty, but can ratchet it down a few notches. They do seem like two people who are genuinely searching. They just need to throw off the constraints they are forced to live under.
3
I'll be impressed with these "beautiful people" when I see a few pix of them with a carpenter's apron and steel toed boots helping to build houses for the underclasses.
They are all accidents of luck and lust. Reading stuff like this is almost enough to make a socialist out of me, or better, raise the income tax rate back to 92% for the ones who have all the loot, inherited or otherwise.
191
That dress is designed for nothing more than an exhibitionist. These aren't the kind of people I want leading anything. I'll take an LBJ type over these frauds and day of the week.
14
Um...Joshua Kushner started his own tech firm. What have you done?
9
Joshua has done well. Did he do it all from the ground up, refusing to use family finances?
1
Good grief! So we should care about this couple? She took coding. Great. They tossed a few of their bucks into reasonable causes. But really are they worth ink in the NYT? They smack of privilege. Her dress is a joke. I’d rather read about the kids who organized the march in DC who are inspiring and getting trashed. No Trump or Kushner holds a candle to the drive and conviction of the Parkland kids.
31
A pay-per-view UFC match between Ivanka and Karli with the profits going to Meals-on-Wheels, perhaps? On CNN? I'm in.
12
Thanks for the handy primer on Team Trump's third string. Never know when one of them might be indicted and we're all saying 'There's another Kushner besides whatshisname?"
4
Interesting tidbit about Tiffany. There goes her inheritance!
6
"Charles Kushner went to jail in a messy sex and campaign finance scandal in 2005."
"Messy"? This is a criminal who hired a prostitue to have sex with his brother-in-law so that he could record it and send it to his sister. He has been convicted and served time for illegal campaign donation, tax evasion and witness tampering.
24
On the other hand, he kept Christie out of the Trump administration, so there's that.
4
It’s hard to think about the political relevance of Ivanka
Donalds daughter sorry I don’t recall her Moms name.Jarred seems stuck with 666 real estate,and dad
A convicted criminal.My wish for them would be cut yourself off from your parents and make your own way.
6
Frankly, what these people do or don't do is of no interest to me at all. In my world, these folks do not even exist, so why should I care what they do, or who they associate with?
In effect, they are very wealthy nobodies no matter how outlandishly they dress.
89
I appreciate your comment but the fact that Jared had a high security clearance despite being in debt and possibly compromised could effect all of us. If he needs to trade on his influence at the White House to obtain foreign investors money to bail him out that is a conflict of interest that could result in damage to our Constitution. Hard to ignore.
18
Blood may be thicker than water but at the end of the day Donald Trump will not defer to the moderate preachings of Javanka. He was swept into the presidency by riding on the alt-right tsunami and he's not about to anger his base, far more important to his ego than any family loyalty. Why Dowd decided to write a column referencing Kloss is curious. This presidency is all about hatred, spite, and vengeance.
13
The first time I ran across Josh Kushner's name my reaction was, oh lord, not another one. Then I started to read things about him, and it was like comparing the The Unibomber to his brother David. An odd mix of genes from the same source can result in radically different human beings.
It sounds like these two deserve their good looks, success, and happiness. But does Karlie deserve her potential in-laws? I think not.
5
Hmmm, “WASP-worthy” girls? Would that anybody even remotely connected to anything Trump possessed the discretion/propriety/mannerliness etc. of that connotation.
3
Well, if nothing else, the Klossy Posse has the resources to support the family when it hits the fan, if they so choose.
1
You can't gloss over the Kushner family's challenged ethics/ morality family values with religion. All of them stink of corruption.
13
Conversion from Christianity to Judaism means one must renounce Jesus as being the Savior, the Son of God who died for our sins? I suppose if one didn’t believe in Jesus in the first place then the conversion would be easier?
3
Poor Ivanka, she tries to please everyone and ends up pleasing no one.
8
Jared's grandparents would have been thrilled at his involvement in selling weapons to Saudi Arabia.
14
Don't know what kind of liberals Javanka are who have supported Trump's antics wholeheartedly. I know that the Kushner family has deep Democratic Party roots and Josh seems to be in that mold. Why Jared is there in the White House doesn't make any sense unless he thinks of himself so super confident as to not only dip his toe in the Middle East mess but to go jumping in it. As to Ivanka she probably enjoys still being daddy's girl.
40
Maureen, why even bring up the Kushners' religion and the conversion issues? Really, what does it have to do with anything?
8
If Josh is worth billions, maybe Jared can borrow from him instead of leveraging the WH to bail out his building.....
15
"the poised and beautiful young women at their sides."
Since when a half-naked woman with 10 pounds of makeup is considered "poised"
I was taught long ago intellect, education, volunteering, honest work, and manners are what society respect and expect from man/woman.
What a “supermodel” contribute exactly to society?
9
Mo, you poked a hornet's nest: You said some borderline nice things about some people near the White House. Even my favorite NYTimes commenters brought their big guns out to blast the Klossy connection. I found myself half-aghast, maybe even three-quarters, at the overkill.
Gee, guys and gals on the Left, are we that hateful? True, 45 needs to become immediately unemployed, but do we want a scorched-earth political policy to be on our resume? After all, the kids are watching, and it is Easter. But I guess this is total war; thus, no quarter shall be proferred or rendered unto political heathens and scandalous scofflaws or even possible scofflaws. Guilt by association nowadays condemns one to the gallows pole. But, granted, we have been forced to play by FOX News rules. Another Trump legacy.
26
Don’t worry about Javanka. Trump probably just sees the couple as a better investment when they are junketing off to make money for the family business. Expecting that pair to have an impact on the lives of real people is like expecting a horse to enjoy wearing pajamas.
67
You think horses don’t wear pajamas?
https://www.google.com/search?q=hirse+in+pajamas&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF...
2
When were Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump ever members of an “ old moneyed set”?? You have got to be kidding me.
12
Children are being poisoned in Flint. Children are bing killed in their class rooms and a Saudi Prince is being treated like a celebrity as he thumbs his noe at every thing we are supposed to believe in and laughs at the dolt in the White House and we are supposed to care about
these two couples.
Neither couple cares about the rest of us or the causes they allegedly support. We need to stop creating an aristocracy. We faught a revolution to get out from under its yoke. And the current crop of wanta bes just doesn’t cut it...no class, no style, no dignity. Just strange dresses and lots of money.
11
joklo have used their good fortune and privilege in ways that are vastly superior to javanka's nefarious and greedy antics. the prince and princess in the white house must be boiling over with envy.
3
Trump family in-laws and outlaws aren't princelings; they're just poor relations to The Lyin' King.
10
BCE rabbinic sages, Hillel and Shammai, contemporaries paired together by Jewish tradition as archetypical opposites: Hillel the tolerant and liberal “loose constructionist” of the Law, Shammai the exacting and inflexible “strict constructionist.” In one story about them, a gentile comes to both and asks, with the obvious intention of provoking them, to be taught the whole Torah while standing on one leg. Shammai is indeed provoked and gives the man an angry whack with a measuring rod. Hillel replies, “That which is hateful to you, do not unto another: This is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary — [and now] go study.”
Several of the Kushners missed the memo.
68
Am I the only one feeling trapped in a melodrama with people I don't want to know affecting my life? The raping of America's influence on the world by these greedy opportunist families both the Trumps and the Kushners will come with a price we will have to pay...and we do nothing....
Please make them all go away.
20
Most people who work 9 to 5 or at home at all hours of the day and night have no idea whatsoever about the lives of the extremely rich. They cannot contemplate earning more interest in a day than they earn in a lifetime. They can't fathom $5000 suits, $2500 purses, $100,000 necklaces, owning 10 homes or hundredi-million dollar yachts.
You cannot accrue such wealth in isolation and keeping track of it once you get it is a full time job....for an army of people. Having this much makes you paranoid, suspicious, and terrified, and often these people are profoundly cheap. Greed is truly admired.
So, pretty faces, handsome ones, either by genetics or plastic surgery, the "right" schools, either by intelligence or by large donation, and all the other things that go with maintaining the "brand" are required. None of these people (except maybe Dianne Feinstein who is a billionaire herself) has a clue about what it is to be working class. Certainly not any Trump or Kushner. Certainly no one in the administration.
Those who write here (who are not, any of us, 1%ers) would be astounded to live with them for a month. Does Jared know that a large box of Cheerios costs close to an hour of work for minimum wagers or that Tide costs more. What do Javanka or Joklossy know about anything most people would consider REAL? Zip.
Being an orthodox Jew (or orthodox anything) under pressure is blackmail. I hope Klossy is stronger than Ivanka and that she resists. Remember, DJT hates Jews.
17
Karlie Kloss is from an upper middle class family so her background is humble compared to her companion.
1
Remember the recent good old days ??? When a "scandal " was a political invention about eating vegetables, or wearing a TAN suit ??? How quaint, how normal, how boring. I miss the Obamas. Bigly.
20
When Javanka got married my New York friends told it was the coming together of two mob families. If Josh and Karlie are not as bad, that doesnt make them great. Just like Ivanka is not great cos she not as bad as Trump...or is she now>?
14
Ivanka behaves better, at least in public, and is certainly easier to look at. There's no particular reason to admire her any more than her father, though.
1
"That's my family, Kay. That's not me." (Spoken by Michael Corleone in "The Godfather.")
10
Waiting for an anti Josh & Karlie tweet
2
Who cares about Jared & Ivanka & Josh & Karlie?
Does anyone remember Billy Carter? A repulsive slob who tried to cash in on his brother’s presidency, now relegated to the dustbin of history.
I once had some hope for Jared & Ivanka’s influence. Now it just feels like another part of this presidential colonoscopy — an uncomfortable fact of life that you hope ends quickly.
10
Crooked Kushner should be brokering peace in the Middle East like his equally crooked father in law promised us he would.
That is before he goes to jail.
9
My theory about interfaith marriages is roughly this: As long as she is not marrying him just for his money and the kids are being raised Jewish, it will probably work out O.K.
2
Someone needs to remind the Kushners their father is a convicted felon. A criminal.
And just like the Trumps, they are and always will be B&T.
PS: For readers who are not from NYC, B&T stand for bridge and tunnel.
11
Oh Mo,
Lamb shanks were thrown between the Trump and Dems at my Seder Friday, and I'm sure the ham bone will be used as an assault weapon at my siblings' Easter dinner today. What to do?!
32
See the SNL Adele Thanksgiving video short from a couple of years ago. Brilliant!
3
“Blood and Soil” was the chant by the nazis as they marched with torches, the nazis defended by the President of the United States.
Why in the world would a grandchild of Holocaust victims spend one more minute employed in the White House after the days following Charlottesville?
22
That is so true.
If they had an ounce
of integrity, that moment
would have been the
time to take a stand.
Ultimately, the future
business opportunities
and glory of wealth is
their G-d.
4
Karli sounds like she wants to be a decent sort of person. Josh has made a significant donation to Planned Parenthood, although not significant in terms of his worth. If they really want to make a difference, however, I would humbly suggest that they use their wealth to work on a more equitable taxation law, so as to tax the income from wealth at a comparable rate as income from labor, with an eye to creating a more equitable society. That's where we separate the sheep from the goats and solve some of our society's real problems.
79
Congress writes and passes the laws, not everyday citizens.
2
Excellent idea. If Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Bill Gates' father can speak out in favor of more equitable taxes, other wealthy can step up too. The biggest thing supporting the disparity in wealth in this country is rich folks' belief that they're above it all and can escape the misery. They can't. We on the lower rungs are not going to let them.
11
Karlie, don't convert.
Josh, do your thing and forget Jared.
Tiffany, good On 'ya girl!
12
I have railed against Ms. Dowd's destructive sniping in the past. Given that, I have to praise her for this column. Informative, a bit uplifting with enough truthful barbs at Javanka for entertainment and contrast. Thanks.
6
The Kushners as princes? Ivanka being anything more than a vapid rich girl? Who cares who likes what on Instagram? What an idiotic, dopey column.
13
Compare with Kennedy's Camelot. Feel sick.
7
I wonder why we don't use Ivared instead of Javanka in this #MeToo #TimesUp moment…?
28
Complicit Ivanka, Kleptocrat Kushner, Con Don Jr, Eric the dumb one, and philanderer Trump. Keystone cops who inherited wealth and power, but are too stupid, incompetent and greedy to even successfully pretend to try doing the right things.
15
It's unfair of Maureen to begin this column by comparing the British royals to the classless Javanka. A more apt example would have been the Angolan royal family of Dos Santos whose daughter has now risen to become the richest female billionaire in Africa. But just as classless as Javanka.
15
"Charles Kushner went to jail in a messy sex scandal in 2005"
Messy? What about immoral and disgusting?
The man hired a prostitute to entrap his brother in law, and filmed it in order to blackmail his on sister!
26
Happy Passover to Josh, and Happy Easter to Karlie!
#neveragain
#BlueWave2018
#MarchforOurLives
#2020blue
8
Who cares about these people? Money is their God, so who is Mama to demand conversion regarding religion. Miss Karlie is an opportunist so she'll do whatever. How did this disaster happen to the Presidency?
7
Maureen Dowd is the most enjoyable columnist to write at the Times since -- well, I can't really remember anyone like her. Red Smith, the old boxing writer, was a guilty pleasure also. But no one is as consistently engaging as the redheaded bon vivant, who made my morning.
2
All of this smacks of the "petite histoire," gossip and who cares? Trump tolerates nepotism, and I can understand why many of us "en bas de la colline" no matter what we do or how hard we strive,could not care less. Every admin. including the previous one, is snobbish towards those who are disadvantaged, outsiders, and when has it ever been any different? Recall Desiree Rogers, once 1 of Obama's favorites early on in the admin.talking about the "0bama brand,"gloatingly. Then she got fired and no one has heard a great deal about her since. But what is Dowd's point here? Either she has lost her sense of humor, or run out of topics to write about.This is a foolishly written gossip column written by Ms. Dowd who wants to show us that she's still hip, but lacks the quality of writing seen in other gossip columnists like Cindy Adams or Liz Smith!
4
Maureen, although "many have become disillusioned" with Javanka, most of us never had hope in them at all given the fact that, combined, they have the intellectual and moral depth of a bedpan.
32
Bedpans have done more good for humanity.
6
More talk while the world limps or stalks or strides toward its predestined status quo when we finally concede that Fukyama had a point and we should melt in good humor and live within the spectrum that actually is reality.
2
Isn't it time to stop treating "Coding for Girls" and "Girls in STEM" as the latest do-gooder, flavor of the month?
Yes, it is important that youngsters--regardless of gender identity-- be encouraged and given the training and skills for success. And understand the machines that now are embedded in our lives.
But seriously, coding isn't new. And forever, rapidly changing.
And at the rate things are going, in the very near future between robots and AI and some as yet to be introduced "thing," most programmers will be sitting around talking about "the good old days" when humans actually controlled the machines. While a handful will actually work with them.
28
Okay then, you set up a learning camp for kids and choose the subject
5
A not-very-bright rich kid's father buys him entrance to a good school and social connections. He then gets richer by hiring smarter people to handle the investment of other people's money, that he gets hold of from the bought-for-him connections.
This makes his "opinions" important?
His money attracts a model to be his girlfriend, so he parades her around with skimpy clothes. This makes her "opinions" important? She's "nice?"
The key to being rich is now to be rich, or be the girlfriend of rich.
But why do we care?
36
10 years ago we would know who Karlie Kloss is as the social media era has placed 6-foot tall thin models behind female entertainers, athletes and the Kardashian/Jenner family. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue now features heavy-set women and athletes on the cover.
The only reason I know who Karlie Koss is is due to a feature about her in The Wall St. Journal 2 years ago.
1
You should do something for young kids like she is doing. Pick a subject and help them learn
1
Plenty of people do that every year. they are called teachers. They are underpaid in most any city and yet they spend a portion of their salaries to buy supplies for their classrooms, clothing and meals for children who need it. They continue after school hours to enrich their students with all sorts of extra curricular activities.They don't advertise it and nobody is writing columns about them in The Times.
Most of these people wish they had the resources of Kloss or the Kushners so they could do even more, but nobody thinks it is worth paying a teacher who stands in front of a class for six hours a day the same salary a model who stands in front of a camera. And God only knows what Kushner does for his income.
Kloss is donating her money to a cause in which she is interested. So are tens of thousands of people all over the country, according to whatever means they may have. It is worth more recognition than running sweatshops in developimg countries for sure. In an article about the couple, if such an article is necessary, it is worth a mention, but not a canonization.
8
Good grief who cares. The presidency and all of the ridiculous swirling stories surrounding it, have replaced the afternoon soaps. Except this is real and actually ruling our country and its ideals. Please stop glamorizing it.
30
I’m very sorry that the Kushner grandparents were Halocaust victims. That horror is nearly unimaginable.
But I am amazed that people who have experienced such subjugation and ostracism would insist on forcing their religion on others as a requirement for acceptance. Putting aside any arguments about the “rightness” of any religion over another—or the validity of religion altogether—cannot the Kushner’s accept that there are good people whose beliefs or intellect are not subject to their approval? And how could anyone, man or woman, consider converting to a religion as a reasonable requirement for real acceptance by a family, or a spouse?
44
I find it difficult to think that any person whose relatives were Holocaust victims would work in an administration where any/some people who marched under swastika flags were considered fine people.
8
The trouble us old Luddites have with all of these people is that they talk, Tweet and Instagram a lot but actually seem to do very little. I understand the impact of communication and messaging to motivate people, but it is hard to respect these "thought leaders" who have few actual accomplishments to their names other than being fortunate enough to have been born into a rich family. Without the Trump and Kushner family money and connections to support and fund their ventures, would Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric, Jared and Josh be people anyone would care about or listen to?
34
Or course people can make millions or billions, spending it as they see fit, but how they spend it is a reflection on them.
Wealthy folks who give a significant portion of their millions, that they're unlikely to splurge spend on themselves anyway, are altruistic citizens in the Roman Senate definition of the word.
Those who give nothing or little, while faluting their personal wealth while those around them have little or nothing, are not worthy of societal praise. As a Bible verse Matthew 19:24 explains - "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
Bereft of spiritual wealth is an obvious side effect of miserly life styles when you have more than you need. Flaunting your wealthy while being miserly, as many in the Trump clan do, demonstrates a lack of compassion or spiritual core.
35
Having attended several sessions of a bible study group with several well-to-do women a few years ago, I can tell you that they are terrified of that "camel and eye of needle" quote.
But they were regularly reassured by the group leader that the "eye of the needle" was a particularly low bridge over a small street, and the camel had to kneel down and walk on its knees to get through--so, quite possible, even if darned uncomfortable for the camel. What a reassurance!!! No need to give it all away!
I began to see why my mother was so dismissive of the bible--"you can make it mean any thing you want it to mean," she would always say.
One in real estate the other on health care insurance exploit American labor despite their differences in personalities and political preferences. There is more than being “nice.” It is also how you use money and power to aggrandize them.
29
How could this class every gain an understanding of the plight of a West Virginia coal miner or a laid off auto worker or a school teacher in Alabama? Yes, they can wear t-shirts and show up at rallies, but, at the end of the day they all return to their tall tower life, whose greatest challenge is employing good help.
62
FDR wealth- $60 million.
1
How could West Virginia coal miners be so dim witted to believe this class cares about them at all?
3
My takeaway of interest is that Instagram ‘like’ of Tiffany’s. Glad to know she has her thinking cap on and voicing it albeit subtly.
48
I’ll take the lovely story of Nicole Parisina Basile and Stephen Decatur Smith over this, any day.
Thank you, NYT for featuring their romance and wedding, a much-better read.
10
It just happens that I was listening to the Kol Nidrei as I read this article - and can't think of a more jarring disconnect than the one between Bruch's sublime music and the picture of the Kushner couple and that dress.
41
That cutout dress is in terrible taste. Karlie should know better. But she does seem like a nice person. Much more authentic than Ivanka, who has shown her true colors many times.
2
I can’t wait until the pretend Javanka rulers are out of the plublic eye Javanka has no shame. Too bad for the Klossy posse they would be interesting if they were not related to Javanka.
If Ivanka had one nano gram of integrity she would reprimand her father for talking how he would seduce her if she weren’t his daughter. She must have tons of serious dirt on her father.
It’s hard to know where this crazy Trump train is taking us. But I think Jared may be ready to go after his father in law when the rubber meets the road. If Jared is found guilty of everything he is accused of he could go to jail for a long time. Jared may well know enough to bring down the POTUS.
78
One can only hope.
3
Tina Fey described the Met Gala as a "jerk parade" - nevertheless, she was also in attendance, at least once. When America, including Maureen Dowd, wakes up and rids itself of its fascination with this endless surge of vacuous people whom they only know as bejeweled waxworks, we can actually get something accomplished. Fortunately, by the year 2025, courtesy of social media and a plague of TV networks, there will exist more celebrities in the world than non-celebrities, finally rendering the word as meaningless as it should be.
93
Interesting convergence; only the really rich and really poor parade women out in such skimpy outfits.
67
Ever been to Walmart?
JB: Hate to differ, but nobody “parades” these two, they are their own attention seeking “Brand”.
1
Clearly these uber rich folks exist in an alternate universe so disconnected with the rest of humanity who survives in less than $2 a day, but with dignity decency kindness as their clothing.
3
Charlie Kushner is a religious man. The kind of man that evades taxes then hires a prostitute to seduce his brother in law while filming it for the benefit of his own sister.
A real class act.
The vulgar Trump and Kushner clans deserve each other. The rest of us don’t.
414
Don't know why people expect religious people, especially Orthodox Jews, to be moral and righteous. They are more than that. They are completely human.
1
Each White House Family has their issues. Someone is complaining about something with each first family. That we have gotten closer to King wannabe Trump, we have reached the edge of a cliff and we have to ask. Which view are we looking at? The fall or the hill? There is some fear about the nation that Trump's time in the Heady Limelight of the Oval Office will be taken from him. While others will thank any God they can find, when he finally leaves the Office.
But Trump might be thinking Hey You know I am like a smart Person maybe I can just hang out here till I die like in 26 years and be King for life like those Justices over there.
Thanks Xi for letting me see the future, oh and Thanks Vlad I know you got my back if I have to kill the Press.
Your ideas about the first family and which ones will make good Princes or Princesses can vary from mine, so get your CAFE standards ready for the EPA.
15
Read Frank Bruni's column yesterday, concerning Anne Coulter's private complaints to her pal, DJT, regarding nepotism in the White House. Jared is no Bobby Kennedy, and conservatives/libertarians should be outraged that Daddy Kushner is trying to impose a conversion on the part of Karlie.
We are quite familiar with Jared here in Maryland, where he is one of the state's largest slumlords and frequently sues his low income tenants for rent they have already paid.
These people are creeps. Let them go back to New York. We don't want them here.
137
Well, NY and NJ don't really want him either. Maybe Florida will make him feel welcome.
4
We don't want them here, either!
--New York
5
Oh, no. We warned America and they ignored us.
5
Of course, she is "insanely nice" and delivers cookies to her neighbors. And of course you believe any unverifiable claim about her good character, because she agrees with you politically. It may all be true, and I offer up no aspersions for Ms. Kloss. The problem, which this column epitomizes, is that it is no longer sufficient to disagree with our political opponents. People on both sides have decided that they must vilify those with whom they agree and lionize their political allies. Currently, but not always, the problem is more acute on the Left, where it has become an article of faith that anyone who serves in the Trump Administration is contemptible. It has become gauche in "elite" circles to be associated with Trump, and then the same snobs cry out in disgust when Trump appoints someone lacking credentials. I have every reason to believe that Rex Tillerson, General Kelly, and, yes, Ivanka Trump, are good people who have tried to serve their country under difficult circumstances. I am daily disgusted with Donald Trump and I have some policy disagreements with his administration, but I am grateful to the people who are running the gauntlet of character assassination that has replaced politics to try to bring some sanity to the White House. Donald Trump is the president, whether you or I like it or not. And the answer to his election does not lie in vilifying anyone who serves in his administration.
39
I might agree with you about Tillerson. Kelly, regrettably, has proven himself a complete racist liar in his comments about Trump's opponents. Ivanka is not terribly smart, so one has to cut her some slack, but she knows better than most what a lying misogynist her father is, and exerts no apparent pushback whatsoever. Cry me a river about her efforts to "serve" her country. Like her husband, who is missing no opportunity to monetize his position to save his family fortune from the effects of his stupid business decisions.
34
With his lies about the Florida Congress woman, his failure to apologize after his comments were shown to be incorrect, and his comments after Charlottesville, Kelly showed that he was not a good person or a nice person either. He is not the adult in the room, only another sycophant who is just following orders.
27
Sorry, but people are justified in calling out those who are — as you put it — lacking credentials.
26
Jared and Ivanka cluelessly facilitating their own "deliverable", a congress that will put an end to this shameful spectacle.
20
Let's not make the same naive mistake we did looking for salvation from Javanka, Kelly or any other earthlings with connections to Ivan the Terrible.-- current or former, business or familial. I won't be putting my trust OR money into anybody having had a history of dipping their digits into this swamp-turned-toilet. A pox on anybody this monster has ever rubbed elbows with. Sorry, family.
54
Reading "Fire and Fury" by Michael Wolff which was written several months ago. I don't know if every claim was true then but many passages seemed to predict the chaotic future of the Trump White House.
By the way, Maureen, it's Jarvanka, not Javanka, according to Mr. Wolff.
2
Trump's ego wanted to be President of the U.S.A; the most powerful position in the world. To quote a famous song, "Everybody wants to rule the world".
He never imagined that the inevitable scrutiny following his oath of office would disembowel his financial house of cards. He's too dumb to have thought that far into the future. So are those who hang on to him. Any association with Donald Trump is, or will be, a liability for all of them.
77
In feudalism we might have derived either halfway peaceful times or imminent disaster from the clouds in the coffee of the 'nobility' (a collection of immature snobs staging a mockery of what it means to be human), today should be different.
Instead today is about the showdown whether democracy will shake off the shackles and tentacles of the oligarchs and the Military Industrial Combustion n Bustin' Dictate or fatally fall to this ´soft´ dictatorship taking its centuries old power abuse to new unseen extremes.
It's about whether gerrymandering, severe voter purging and supression and even worse voting machine manipulation will cement the power to an ill-willed minority of ultrawealthy ultra warhawks and their basket of fooled deplorables, or we'll see the first successful revolt of the people since we have industrialization.
Whether we have devastating climate change, tax cuts and freedom for the rich only, privatization to hypermonetize essential services everywhere, unlimited gun proliferation only there to beef up the coffers of the gun manufacturers and rampant for-profit pollution leaving a scorched-forever earth and oceans, orchestrated by vast scale elective outcome distortion and the bought politicians and judges resulting from and tending to it, with their puppet masters hiding in plain sight, or whether informed democracy will prevail for the very first time.
We need a revolution if the kleptocrats and high finance thugs steal the coming elections once again.
45
They are all very good-looking. I’ll give them that.
4
Yawn. "Javanka" is?/are? hypocrites, or always have been pseudo liberals at best. Jared's brother Joshua is trying to straddle the fence, (just to be on the safe side), in case some political favors come his way, or lest Trump actually target him for some kind of special punishment. Karlie Kloss is the only one who seems to qualify as being a decent sort, who has remained true to her political convictions, with no apologies.
As for Ms. Kloss converting to Orthodox Judaism, that is her personal decision to make and not her future in-laws to demand. That sort of demand is kind of like foreshadowing in a novel. It is a big clue as to what sort of in-laws from Hades the Kushners will be. Besides, the senior Kushners aren't exactly stellar roll models for religious piety. But then again, hypocrisy seems to be a Kushner family tradition.
Another addition of "As the Stomach Turns" to borrow from an old Carol Burnett skit. Mine has done nothing but turn since November of 2016.
35
i can only hope ivanka and jared are snubbed on a regular basis in nyc ....
any anecdotes?
18
Snubbed is too kind. We will mock, scorn and vilify them wherever and whenever possible.
Trust me...a born and raised New Yorker.
5
In these pages I've previously noted Trump is the anti-Christ. Further proof; Jared is facilitating the version of Revelation most embraced by the Evangelical voting bloc. His interference in the Middle East is their evidence "everything is according to plan".
Saddest part of the story; the Klossy Posse is tarred by Trumps brush.
19
I guess the orthodox Jewish conversion didn't take in terms of Karlie's dress code. Although it might work on a statue at MOMA.
17
I had to wonder why this particular photo was chosen to go with an article that seems to be painting Kloss as a serious, quiet young woman who doesn't seek publicity. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. and this picture says anything but quiet
2
When all this obscene spectacle is finally over, Tiffany, Jarrad, Donald, Ivanka, Josh, Karlie, and Erik will still be tremendously wealthy....and nurses aides will still report for the night shift for $10 an hour.
137
If only folks understood, just because you vote for the rich, doesn't make you rich.
3
Interesting tidbit on Tiffany T. I was wondering where she has been hiding. Glad to know that she liked the idea that the GOP would lose the midterm elections. Marla’s girl seems to be more sensible than Ivana’s boys and girl.
36
Sensible? Maybe. But she's standing up there on election night and in every family photo, so I'm not sure it comes down to sense. My guess is that she is considered less "important" by misogynistic Daddy Trump, and she has some feelings about it that she expresses where it won't affect her bank account -- on Instagram.
4
Seriously, you think people believed Ivanka and Jared were a "ray of hope"? That "many are disillusioned" with her failure to advocate for women?
Why would anyone have thought anything like that when there was no evidence that Ivanka and Jared had interest in anyone but themselves? That they were transparently hitching their wagon to Daddy Trump as it benefited their brand.
The breathlessly repeated conceit of Ivanka and Jared as brokers for progressive were so transparently the blather of pundits who like to weave stories about celebrities. A fiction, a story, to fill space.
And the idea that they are disappointing anyone is more of the same blather. Chapter two of the same story, that didn't deserve a Chapter one. Nobody counted on them for anything but empty words, bad taste and nepotism.
They aren't interesting enough to merit a saga.
They are insignificant, except perhaps, to those who think Charles Kushner and his relationship with Karlie Kloss means something.
51
I have nothing against Kloss, but how out of touch does one have to be to refer to her as "the First Daughter of the Resistance."
Look around, Maureen. The "resistance" isn't driven by elites. The Parkland kids and the coming blue wave are a testament to that (note the conspicuous absence of Democratic leaders). By focusing on palace intrigue, you're missing the real story.
480
Unfortunately the blue wave relays on the dim hope that Democrats will actually vote. Lots of complaining, too little voting.
5
Truer words never spoken. Founding Father are turning over in their graves at the notion of princess and prince of USA. Didn’t we fight a Revolutionary War to put a stop to Royalty ruling this side of the Atlantic. Do not glorify it. Resistance/revolution? Let it start with the Parkland youth removing the cover of the NRA hiding behind the second amendment to lobby against common sense gun control. Then in memory of Teddy Rosevelt, let the resistance spread out to reclaim our national parks and protect our environment from this unscrupulous president and his unmantling of the EPA.
20
Whatever.
This is more or less a fluff piece.. right up until that last paragraph.. which stinks to high heaven..
Charles Kushner served time in jail for disgusting actions that he chose to inflict on his relatives... which makes any suggestion of religious conviction suspect, in my book.
I can't help but think this entire piece was written so Ms. Dowd could enjoy the private/public pleasure of invoking WASP worthy shiksas on Easter Sunday. boo
42
Maybe Jared and Ivanka were in position that they couldn't refuse Trump, as opposed to it being something they wanted. Ivanka clearly seems to have underestimated the effect of her "Daddy's girl" defenses on her reputation.
Other than that, Dowd could at least try to offer some information and humor about something that doesn't look like introducing us to some apparent Democrats who are stuck in the wrong family. I'm one of those, and probably due that my life has been one of public service, I've had to resign myself over the past year to the knowledge that my feelings towards them will never be the same. That's a tragedy of significant proportions for me, so I really don't know that the whimsy Dowd applies to the supposed "battle" between the couples is in decent taste.
11
There seems to be few remarks about the dress which only shows our hellfire heritage. It would be considered modest on the beach in Valencia, in a Catholic country yet.
But I do have to feel sorry for those two being the only rational people in the tRump family as far as I can tell. I have two friends one of whose brother is a right winger. Family gatherings are not fun for them at the present.
As for religion, I guess if it makes the old folks happy, they can probably live with it, I would doubt the grandkids would immigrate to Israel, but considering the machinations of the other side of the family, they might have to in order to escape the evangelical revolution.
First century Judaism is a bit reactionary, but since they did away with the Sanhedrin there is no official body to debate the Judaic laws and to bring them up to date, just like several other religions, they don't make much sense to most of us.
but I doubt the kids will be wearing long black coats, scraggly beards, and spend their time praying to the gods of the Sumerians.
The general consensus here seems to be, they are nice people, and like to do good deeds, so leave them alone, it is not their fault they were born rich.
27
The dress would be considered appropriate at a beach in the US also. That's not where it was worn.
5
Karlie: beware of fake Jews. One's religion is not something you don and remove like the couture on a runway. The Kushners have already proven that morals and righteousness are non-factors in their version of "orthodox Judaism."
199
Mr. Freeman - I think you are implying that except for those "fake Jews" (kudos for the expression; it's funnier than the entire article) we are all moral and righteous.
If only it were so. Alas, we are smart, stupid, smart and evil, stupid and nice, just like the rest of humanity.
Forced in exile millennia ago, always labeled as strangers, we have a history that connects us to our religion more than to a land and there lies our uniqueness and our tragedy.
1
Wow! Great comment, Stu. You expressed exactly how I feel about the Kushners' commitment to Judaism.
3
@drora: We are THEORETICALLY moral and righteous. But, as you note, we are- in practice- no better than the rest of humanity.
We have a great history of wealth privilege in this country.
I'm sick and tired of this current gilded age, our Gatsby-like characters, without the style, our present day Tom&Daisy/Jared&Ivanka:
“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”
The difference is that back in our previous gilded age, we also had people like John D. Rockefeller, who made a fortune with Standard Oil. Rockefeller's motto was “To whom much is given, much is expected.”
Rockefeller was renowned for his charitable giving and gave out more than half a billion dollars back in the 1930s.
He passed on this ethos to his son, who in turn passed it onto his son:
“In other words, you have shown the same sense of stewardship and the same sense of responsibility that Grandfather, by his example, inspired in me. It is, therefore, with confidence and satisfaction that I am planning to share with you still further, from time to time, this trusteeship reposed in me by Grandfather. The wise course you are all pursuing in the use of your resources and your deep and earnest desire to make your lives and your means count as fully as possible for the betterment of humanity would, I know, give Grandfather as great satisfaction as it gives me."
Javanka are a blight on our nation. They should go away.
139
Some though have made good with their high profile to do brilliant charitable work. For instance Chelsea Clinton who has seen a womanizing father and a convicted felon for a father in law, but focused her energies on the Clinton Foundation. She too married a Jewish boy whose father Ed Mezvinsky unfortunately could not resist temptations of wealth. “In March 2001, Mezvinsky was indicted and later pleaded guilty to 31 of 69 felony charges of bank fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud. Nearly $10 million was involved in the crimes. Shortly after his indictment, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but the judge at his trial disallowed a mental illness defense. He entered prison in February 2003, and served his time at Federal Prison Camp, Eglin.”
3
Isn't this just one more contribution to the Trumps and validation of their modus operandi--publicity today, publicity tomorrow, publicity forever? How can anyone possibly see these four as meritorious let alone as thought leaders or as implied generation leaders? How about a promise not to write about these two again?
75
I had the pleasure of meeting Karlie briefly at an event last year. Never have I seen someone with so much grace, kindness, and passion for what she does. Truly rooting for her in every way. I admire her public stance against Trump's platform and can only hope that her and Josh continue to make waves.
87
"Make waves"? Ripples in a swamp, maybe.
What waves flow from a coding class taught after a single course, what change to Chaos from one decent vote and a nice tee shirt, even one wet by a ripple? Nonentities doing not much with no elected responsibilities, no education, no professional achievements, and no family traditions... drops of water, not even ripples.
16
Dr Bob, introducing girls to coding is not just a ripple in a swamp. Coding camp might not convey an extensive knowledge of coding, but the introduction plus the “cool” aura of celebrity could be a springboard for a career in technology. If you think it takes elected entities how do you explain the success of the Parkland youth? We, as a people, have acceded too much power to elected entities. We need to react and resist elected officials who do not reflect our American values. That seems to include most of our elected officials today, who care only about the strength of their political party no matter how they have to compromise their values and moral compasses, if they even have one.
How could we have allowed this to happen? Both the Trumps and the Kushners are symbols not of our better angels, but the greed and averice of American capitalism. Neither family produces anything other than greasing palms in order to shortchange investors and local governments. In their world, making money and seeking self-promotion becomes ends in themselves. Just look at both Trump and his son-in-law, who sees the White House and the presidency as a vehicle at self-enrichment. Ivanka is no better, despite her claims to the contrary. When will Americans realize that they have been had and enough is enough.
112
It's actually great that Trump has put a harsh spotlight on our own oligarchs, who seem hardly better than the Russian variety on the greed, materialism, vulgarity, and shallowness meters. It's good for our little people to see what their rulers are really like. Too bad so many of the clods are just as supportive of their abusers as the clods in Russia seem to be.
15
I want to reiterate what several commenters have said - I fiercely miss the Obamas, who lent grace, high ethics, and a moral attitude to the White House.
Karlie and Josh (Jarlie?) do not seem as clueless as Javanka, they are still rich and privileged folks, both coming from at least well-to-do backgrounds. As such, they have a voyeuristic view of the real world and an upperclass sense of entitlement. The Obamas both came from American middle-class backgrounds, and they truly understood what makes America great.
348
Actually, Karlie grew up middle to upper middle class in St. Louis. She’s also the only one of the four who made her own money.
25
I'm voting for Kash over Jarlie.
Seems apropos.
2
How about those of us who hated the Obamas? Does our opinion matter? I think he was the worst President in the last 75 years. BTW: Barack Obama was raised by very wealthy WHITE grandparents in a Honolulu ocean front condo -- not hardly middle class! HA! and he went to all expensive private academies.
1
"Do I need to read this?" I asked myself. I am glad I did. I like Karlie - the only one among the Trump-Kushner clan.
45
Both Kushner boys were born on third base and probably think they hit a triple. One benefit of getting rid of this awful president presumably would be that we could stop hearing about NY's purported elites.
71
Both Kushner boys were born on third base and think they invented baseball.
5
We can thank the sharp and pungent late Gov Ann Richards for coining a phrase that sums up every member of the Trump-Kushner clan! So, so true.
1
No comparison. JJI are out for themselves, well-coiffed opportunists. William, Kate, Harry and Meghan are deeply committed philanthropists. Rooting for Karlie.
56
I wish I had never heard of any of them.
19
Too bad about your family. A question that keeps rolling around in my head. Are they bitter about a certain sanctimonious guilt tripping celebrity (the type of person you endlessly fawn over) who make them feel small and guilty. So they say and do things out of spite. Hoping to get some rise out of people like that. Or do they actually get off, let's say, on ICE raids that rip families apart. How much pleasure do they get at the idea of an "illegal" being dragged out of a hospital bed and thrown into a detention. Do they get a surge of satisfaction when some decent person is deported. Are they as cruel as they sound or are they just trying to be provocative towards people who make them feel lousy about themselves. People who have less to lose and ask them to make sacrifices that they themselves never have to. My sense is that it is some toxic combination of both. The resentment is more understable to me than the cruelty. But I'm more interested what you have to say since you're close up to it.
22
If Karlie Kloss is so private, why did she tweet a picture of herself voting for Hillary Clinton? Why did she appear at the gun control rally last weekend?Why did Ms. Kloss appear on Instagram holding a sign that read "Load minds, not guns" and donate $50,000 to the cause? Why did she pose in a Planned Parenthood t-shirt for all to see. She is not a private person but appears to be a publicity hound at best.
Most Americans couldn't care less about Karlie Kloss and do not follow her comings and goings. Most had never heard of her until this article appeared in the Times. She may be well known in coastal elite cities but in middle America she is an unknown. She does not affect our politics one iota.
64
Karlie grew up in St.Louis, she isn't a coastal elite. You might want to talk to the young women and men in your town because she's considered a role model by both. As for why she is sharing her life if she is private, that's part of her job.
13
I think that supermodels can be private people. There are oodles of them whom I have never heard of, including Karlie Kloss.
The fact that she is speaking out in support of what she believes in does not make her a publicity hound in my view. It indicates that she has reached a point where silence just doesn't cut it, and she is using whatever notoriety she has to show her support to those fighting for change.
I wish her luck and hope she keeps it up.
26
What exactly are the tenets for Orthodox Judaism? I certainly don't think the dress Ms Kloss wore to the Met Gala would be approved by any Orthodox religion. Anyway I wouldn't care what these super rich people do except that they do to the rst of us.
35
She isn't Jewish, or Orthodox. What does a 6'2" model wear? Whatever she wants.
2
Absolution and indulgences, like deferments, are always available for those with the means to afford them.
2
Ms. Kloss is not an Orthodox Jew, or a Jew of any kind. She is as far as I know a Christian. And there is nothing wrong nor illegal about her dress -- it's not even remarkably revealing for a dress worn by a supermodel celebrity at a what appears to be a "black tie" event.
1
"Complicit" is the right word for Ivanka, and for Jared, who is also "Scheming."
And why are these Trump insiders allowing Trump to wage a war on transgender soldiers serving our country?
At the risk of agreeing with Anna Wintour, Ivanka is a lost cause.
80
The Trump family dramas never end. Who's in, who's out? Who's aligned with whom? Who's the favored and unfavored children? Who's divorcing and marrying? Who has Papa Trump been sleeping around with?
Donald Trump's familial soap opera got his name in the news decades ago. The scripts have long since become hackneyed.
30
I may not care for Jared Kushner's actions as an adviser to POTUS, but I won't hold him or his brother accountable for any transgressions by their father. They seem well capable of messing up for themselves.
42
I would like to point out that the camp Karlie founded is FREE for girls. And from what I read, this young woman is amazing and totally gives back. Super smart and actually puts in the time. She is only 25. Imagine her older. Wow. And, she is not born to riches. And, she has morals. Nothing like Ivanka.
160
It is hard to feel empathy for any of them. But I live in a place which could encourage US citizens to get rid of Trump soon. Trump's Panama hotel project which opened in Panama City in 2011 was "Ivanka's" project according to Daddy. And she was here often during the construction, apartment sale and hotel opening phases. Daddy himself was here for the grand opening in a photo memorialized by history, he and then President Martinelli of Panama.
Martinelli is in jail now in Miami awaiting extradition to Panamá for alleged crimes involving improper use of state resources to spy electronically on political opponents and the press. Trump has been laid low in Panamá as well having just been ousted as hotel manager after a dispute with the majority owner of the 71 story skyscraper.
If Panamá can get rid of him, then so can the US. Panamá was brave not to intervene on Trump's side, since its only military defense agreement is with the US. But Panamá did take some comfort from having the original and the new canals. If Trump is not careful, China will make Panamá a better bid on military defense, which would be a disaster for the US, Panama and the world.
173
Equating the Kushner brothers with Princes William and Harry? That's quite a reach. The former is crass; the latter is class.
254
I don’t think the Royals are all that classy either, but they are far more private.
40
I hate classy as a modifier, almost as much as I hate the expression that someone is a "quality" person. But if we are going to look at class in the real sense, of social rank and privilege based upon inheriting position and wealth, I think you have to admit that the Royals are the textbook definition of classy.
1
why is "the latter class...?"
the so called royals are an anachronistic remnant of an age
when the poor and downtrodden
were abused and robbed of their
freedom in the name of kings and
queens.it is an institution that has
no relevance in our world today.
there is nothing even vaguely
"classy" about living off the hard work of others and owning land
which rightfully belongs to the so
called common people. there is nothing "classy"about centuries of
scandals and murder in the name
of royalty.whether one likes the
Kushners or not(I,for one,don't)
they are certainly no more culpable
of greed, arrogance and nepotism
than these walking anachronisms
who call themselves "royal."
12
In case it escaped Maureen Dowd's notice Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner no longer have the clout they once had as the power couple of the Trump White House. Jared Kushner was stripped of his security clearance so he no longer has unfettered access to top secret documents. Ivanka has also faded into the background. Nothing to see here anymore.
Besides it's the second night of Passover so I'm sure Ivanka and Jared getting ready to celebrate with another Seder with their kids.
38
His clearance was reduced by one level, and I'd bet a lifetime supply of matzo balls he's still getting access under the table. Since Trump doesn't read this stuff, some has to for him. It was, and likely continues to be Jared.
3
Dear Karlie, this is how you handle the conversion question:
MIL: "Will you consider converting?"
You: "No."
Rinse and repeat as often as necessary.
Full disclosure: I only had to have this brief conversation once with my MIL, but everyone who knows me knows that No means No. It sounds like you are nicer than me, so you may have to repeat it multiple times.
123
It’s all about any grandkids being officially Jewish (born to a Jewish mother). Nobody actually cares about Karlie Kloss’s brand of spirituality. Unfortunately when you’re Orthodox, only an Orthodox conversion will do. Israel doesn’t recognize any other flavor of conversion.
32
That's very presumptuous of you. You have no idea the ultimate thought process that went into Karlie's decision to convert. You're entitled to say no as much as you want to. But you have no right to tell other people who haven't asked your opinion how they should manage their lives.
1
EK: you've truly missed the point. It is not whether Karlie Kloss really believes in Orthodox Judaism or wants to convert. It is that IF SHE DOES NOT....it is likely that Josh's parents will pressure him not to marry her. And there goes her billionaire boyfriend/future husband/future father of her kids.
I think it is presented to her as "either convert, or stay on as his girlfriend, but he'll never marry you if you remain a Christian".
BTW: I am a Reform Jew, and I assure you that Mr. and Mrs. Kushner Sr. would not accept ME as their future daughter-in-law either -- I am not observant ENOUGH. I'd have to basically convert too, even though I am born Jewish on both sides of my family, going back over 100 years that I can document -- still not "Jewish enough".
3
There were so many people on that march to choose from, why these two? Though they do seem like nice enough people. Can you even imagine Maureen writing about any one of those amazing kids marching and organizing, speaking with an eloquence and magic, determination and depth that at some point --maybe-- she wished herself capable of.
211
Or even more interestingly, to write a comparison between how the world has fall in love with the admittedly amazing Parkland kids, to the treatment that intelligent, charming, well spoken and beautiful black kids get when they are angry and demanding about their friends and family being needlessly and tragically killed.
20
Eric, excellent point! Bravo! Thank you!
I agree.
They were all in my kind when I wrote this.
I thought it was "Jarvanka," as Michael Wolff coined in his "Fire and Fury" book, but what do I know? Perhaps Ms. Dowd wanted to coin her own name for the duo.
At the tender age of 25, Karlie is rather young to commit herself to a family with continuing illegal financial tendencies, not including being forced to change her culture. The possibility of her brother-in-law to be going to jail is high.
If I were her parent, I would caution her to think long and hard before committing, given the old saw: "You marry the family." I would also tell her that she is more valuable and has more options than she realizes in this life, so she should take her time.
132
Agreed. Can't imagine what could have been going through Hope Hick's parents' minds when she hitched her horse to the Trump wagon. I feel the same about Karlie Kloss.
3
Karlie Kloss is a supermodel who is 25 -- to the rest of us, that is crazy young but for a model, she is close to her sell-by date. She's beautiful surely, but there are 15 year olds chomping on her tail. The business chews up pretty girls and spits them out.
The preferred path for most supermodels is to marry a billionaire -- a rich guy or a rock star or similar -- and coast as a trophy wife the rest of your life. Karlie seems to be doing precisely that and she is not the first and won't be the last. She is cashing in her chips as a "super beautiful girl/model".
The problem for most such women is it just does not last. They turn 30 and then 40, have some kids and are not super gorgeous after a while. Then the rock star or billionaire dumps them for a younger model. To read the life histories of such women is sad, even if they have glory days that the rest of us can only dream about.
2
Karlie is 25, has no college education, and her contribution to society so far has been modeling and fashion advice.
What qualifies her to teach programming code? And why should I care what she thinks?
130
I don’t know if she is still a student there but Karlie Kloss studied at NYU and she doesn’t teach coding although she has studied that. She founded a camp to teach girls how to code with other people to do the teaching.
50
She actually took coding classes and does know how to code. That is what inspired her to set up her FREE camps for girls -- and her camps are wonderful. Also, she is not the one teaching at the camps. Perhaps you should read about her actual work before speaking about what she does. https://www.kodewithklossy.com/campscholarship
97
Now now, that's a little snooty. She obviously cares about girls getting more competitive in tech, which is commendable. Although she hasn't been to college yet, that doesn't mean she won't ever go, and in the meatime she is educating herself. A college diploma is not a membership card in the clan of the respectable --- or the intelligent.
As to Karlie's refusal to convert, atta girl! As the daughter of two Jewish parents, I object strongly to in-law control and smothering on the matter of religion. I married a gentile. Neither his nor my parents made an issue of religion; our grown daughter is a happy atheist, as are we. The Kushner demand is rather hypocritical, given dad's criminality. Who do they think they are to impose their religion on a young woman --- or her potential children? And the stranglehold of orthodox religion on Israel is making so many people so miserable.
15
As my beloved Aunt J says, "There is always someone younger and cuter".
32
Jarvanka have been a BIG disappointment with the advocacy for firing James Comey, their suspected involvement in the Saudi-Trump war against Qatar when it decided not to bail out Jared's white elephant building at 777 Park Avenue along their suspicious dealings with Chinese bank, Amban,and her sweat shops producing her line of fashion clothing. It seems her conversion was not to Jewish liberal values, but to the family's and hers insatiable need for cash. It seems Josh and Karlie have united in the values not valued by The Donald and his daughter. And that at least, is a hopeful sign in the darkness of "American carnage" that is the Trump family and its destructive (aka "chaotic") path across the democratic landscape of the nation.
47
If a person "agrees to convert" one's religious beliefs at the bequest of a relative it seems to me that said person had no real beliefs to convert from.
72
It’s about the grandkids. Their mother has to be Orthodox “kosher” Jewish for any kids to be Orthodox “kosher” Jewish. It’s not about her, really, except this annoying little technicality.
24
Your thinking is exactly why the Obamas became members of the Church of Christ in Chicago when that particular congregation just happened to be THE place to be seen among black churches.
Nothing lost, nothing gained of any importance except the social connections.
Maureen
The closing line of your piece about Karlie Kloss and the Kushner clan made me laugh out loud. I always knew you had a way with words but more focused on biting wit. You’ve now moved to the comic realm and I encourage you to do more in that vein. Bravo!
13
These people, and those like them, the top 1% aren't taxed enough.
235
It's typical. Give lots of press to the "pretty people." But 325 million - even those with half a brain - will not succumb to those some columnists represent as "leaders." What Americans need are real people to lead. People who believe and act on the premise the golden rule means do unto others versus those who have gold rule.
30
The obvious red-lines that Ivan-red has crossed are: (1) filling jobs created for nepotism;
(2) accepting positions with responsibilities that were LIGHT YEARS beyond one level of incompetency;
(3) assuming that future presidencies for one, maybe both, was anything other than utter nonsense; AND
(4) as daddy's family and NEITHER qualified NOR experienced as experts in government affairs, then conducting business and receiving pay-outs as senior representatives for Kushner Companies and Trump Organization.
After the 2018 Vote, I pray for a Renaissance of Fulfilling Ethics Requirements. With enough correctly-aligned office holders, this nation may need to legislate more requirements, timelines, and expulsion procedures.
88
Well, judging from these photos, I certainly prefer the way Ivanka dresses over Karlie, but that's just me. My male counterparts (including my own husband) would probably beg to differ. But it stops there. As of now brother Josh and Karlie seem to still have the courage of their convictions, and in-spite of all the glitz and glamor seem to be involved in progressive causes near and dear to my own heart. Hopefully, their ideals and philosophies will remain in tact. However, there is a risk. That risk depends on the ethics of Josh's business. Will he journey on the same road as Other J professionally? And politically, I would hope he remains "liberal." Yet, one would be concerned if he were to stroll down the same arrogant and apparently crooked path as Jared, albeit on "our side" this time. After all, they are brothers and scions of the same father who, forgive me, seems to be a work of bad art. But it is consoling to read that this couple prefers the opera and symphony rather than watching along with 18 million (!!!) or so viewers the new old Roseanne. Or is it the old new Roseanne?
62
This male entirely agrees with you about Karlie's so- called dress. There are quite a few of us who find nothing elegant or attractive about such exhibitionism; rather we consider it an abomination.
12
This one is a little too fluffy for me.
Who cares if the Kushner family (excluding Jared and his weird mouth) are stylish and physically attractive? We need people who are willing to speak out against the madness. Loyalty to families with longstanding mafia ties and shady business deals means nothing in the bigger picture. That is what nobody in the Trump hive seems to understand.
If we don't corral the monsters in the White House, the climate careens out of control, and genocidal warfare will break out all over the world. Ivanka made a few tepid gestures in that direction but then wimped out. Let's see if her inlaws are made of sterner stuff.
168
They're, "stylish and physically attractive."
In which universe?
6
Curiouser and curiouser. So the Trump era is really upon us and not a bad dream from which one eventually awakens. We search for vestiges of what passes for sanity: this oddly-costumed pair may be a rare example.
46
What is oddly costumed about them? He's wearing a tuxedo and she is wearing a provocative dress that befits her job in the appearance industry and that she has the self confidence to wear.
24
Agreed, but, nonetheless, that dress is beyond-question tacky.
1
i am a fan of Maureen Dowd, but i just didn't see the point of this opinion piece. There as so many more interesting things to opine on than the
Kushner brothers. And i certainly would not equate them with royalty and William and Harry. The political leaders and their spouses who exuded royalty were families like the Kennedy's and the Obama's. It is presence and class and how you relate to people. The Trumps and Kushners are just in the same league. I'm getting tired of reading about Trump all the time. Lets be original and find something more exciting to talk about.
286
Jackie was classy. She was not a Kennedy. The offspring of definitely not-classy gangster Joe Kennedy and his win at all costs children, not so much. Except for Eunice.
19
I think pundits are getting a little desperate for material. Every invective and pejorative has been used too many times.
When Bobby Three Sticks comes through it will be a whole new ballgame.
13
I found the article interesting.
1
Normally, the First Kids are out of bounds to reporters and fortunately, this still holds true for young Baron Trump. There needs to distance and respect for the kids while they are kids.
But since we have this old guy in the White House and some of his older children have decided to play politics, they should receive scrutiny when they want to be in the game.
This includes the investigation of Robert Mueller who rightfully is looking into corruption charges, including money laundering, abuse of power and what the framers of our system called high crimes and misdemeanors.
Some of this could be on Don Jr., Eric and Ivanka in addition to Jerrod. what a mess that will be in the Hamptons.
98
I think everyone agrees that First Kids are to be left alone - but that assumes “kids” are under 21. Don Jr is a 40 year old father of five who has thrust himself into the public spotlight with his idiotic tweets. Ivanka and Jared, 35 yr olds, wanted to be advisers to the President so they chose to be public figures. And Eric, a 32 yr old, also chose to be a public figure with his inane comments and tweets. None of Trumps older children are “kids” and all deserve public scrutiny.
23
I had no idea who Karlie was until I read this article, well done Dowd for this enlightenment.
I am liking Karlie now who dares to oppose trump and his family. She appears to be poised and beautiful but so is Ivanka but see, I have seen her before and after pictures, but never mind for that.
About time someone sticks to their opinion even it displeased the corrupt family.
47
It goes without saying that rich people will always run the world, but it is very nice to read about a very rich young couple who, unlike their in-laws, are trying to make the place better for others. And unlike greasy Jared and what’s her name, they seem to have read the Talmud.
87
Any and all resistance to the DJ Trump regime is welcome regardless of the source. There is strength in numbers.
103
Jared believes in fighting climate change and reforming the criminal justice system. So there's something in there that's trying to do good somewhere.
6
The whole concept of "agreeing to convert" baffles me. On its face it screams hypocrisy - that someone's fundamental "beliefs" can be so easily changed? Or just an agreement to play the part of a devout member of the religion.? Or more practically, that at least the kids will be toldl "this is the one truth" (even if the "converted" spouse doesn't "believe" it for a minute?) I just don't get it.
188
Some people are apathetic about religion but they think, Why not make the wife/husband/family happy? and go through the motions to make peace. Then they go back to ignoring the trappings.
26
Mineola,
I think you have made an assumption here that Karlie Kloss' religious "beliefs" are fundamental to who she is. They need not be. Its only mentioned in passing that she is a "WASP," and certainly never suggests she is a practicing Christian. Moreover, whether a non-Jewish potential spouse is asked (or pressured) to convert before marriage is largely dependent upon how devout the Jewish partner and his or her parents are...and Orthodox Judaism is well-known to take a hard line on insisting that the potential wife convert to Orthodox Judaism if not already Orthodox. They generally insist upon the same if the woman is Jewish but not Orthodox; it all comes down to making certain that any children born will also be seen as fully Jewish--and in Judaism, religious affiliation is passed through the child's mother--additionally, some groups of Orthodox Jews do not view their Conservative and Reform Jewish coreligionists as sufficiently Jewish to begin with.
27
Well, at least as a female she won't need a circumcision.
2
This is the sad state of contemporary America: Josh and Karlie are an intelligent breath of fresh air.
Hurry up, mid-terms.
126
It is interesting that Karlie, in a quiet and unassuming way that isn't about building her personal brand, founded a summer camp that helps girls learn to code. She actually did something -- whereas Ivanka, in her self-serving, unctuous way gives lip-service to the STEM cause, but never makes anything happen or has a real impact. It is phony with Ivanka -- far more about promoting her personal brand and looking like a female role model than actually doing the work to get something done.
Ivanka will never support Karlie -- way too much competition.
467
Karlie Kloss could have children that look like the President. I can't wrap my mind around it.
And just how could that be? Josh Kushner is not biologically (or otherwise) related to Donald Trump!
Dishy.
In the end, it’s like pretending that a sun gives a hill of beans about the stray comets hurtling through the system.
51
Or Le Roi Soliel actually cares is more to the point.
Richard at his sanest. Well done.
3
Kudos to Josh Kushner for asserting his own identity and to Karlie, who at 25, has found her voice.They may be rich but are doing what the rest of us are doing during the Trump era, namely protesting every way we know how and supporting worthy causes.
179
"After taking coding classes herself, she founded Kode with Klossy, a coding summer camp for girls."
Keep koding, Karlie. Kancel konversation koncerning Kushner konnection. Kould kourt kontroversy.
670
k-chortle!
31
Love it, NA!
5
Don't forget Ivanka's sweatshops and Jared's peddling. 666 5th Avenue is an albatross, and he seems quite willing to cheat to stay out of bankruptcy himself, like father-in-law. We can also chalk up extra conflicts with Qatar etc. to his influence.
Oh what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive.
These are rich people's problems. Glad they're standing up for some good causes though. Sorry to be such an old fogy, but appearances do matter. No matter how beautiful the body, that dress begs a lot of questions.
333
Susan, having spent half my life in Sweden, where many women go topless on public beaches and sunbathe topless in public parks, the dress doesn't bother me at all.
The Swedes have their priorities straight - nudity and semi-nudity are not a big deal - but guns are. It's almost impossible to obtain any kind of gun in Sweden unless you're a licensed hunter, and that is a whole long process too.
I'll take that dress in a heartbeat over Karlie packing heat!
(And kudos to her for voting publicly against Trump and for marching in both the Women's March and the March for Life for gun control!)
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Yes Wendy, I taught life drawing for many years. Nudity need not be prurient. I was just remarking on my distaste. Nakedness would be less weird than the expensive baring of skin in a glamor location. This was not the Oscars and the display yells look at me look at me look at me.
39
Thanks for your reply, Susan. I understand your distaste and I respect your opinion.
I'm just not bothered in the same way by the "look at me" aspect of it. We all react differently to these things.
You and I are definitely in agreement about Jared and Ivanka, though.
1
Interesting story about the perfect lives of more beautiful people who live in New York City or wherever . I long for the days of President Obama where the country was focused and moving forward. We are now stuck with a daily soap opera. These people can just go about there business and the rest of us will be cleaning up the mess the Trumps have created for decades to come.
1022
"Like Ivanka before her, Karlie has had some rough patches in her romance because of the severe pressure she faces from Seryl and Charles Kushner, the parents of Josh and Jared, to convert to Orthodox Judaism."
I'm fairly sure Orthodox Judaism doesn't condone the behavior of Charles and Jared. According to my research, the Jewish definition of sin includes both ones of omission and commission (against God and others, including stealing).
Doesn't that make campaign finance felonies, tax evasion, and stealing both civic and religious crimes?
Which is why I find the elder Kushner's insistence that non-Jewish daughters convert rather tyrannical--a form of "do as I say, not as I do.")
Javanka's entitled smugness might not actually be a religious sin, more of an irritating personality trait.
But I think we've all seen enough articles about Trumps and Kushners families--likely more than enough for one lifetime.
It's not as if working people need further reminders that Trump's pledge to drain the swamp makes clear exceptions.
Javanka have each made billions off their White House ties and connections. Joshua seems to have been more productive in the companies he's founded, although let's remember this.
Without their fame and family connections would they have been half as successful?
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The elders might be concerned about the religious status of future grandchildren, male and female, which is passed down through their mother.
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The OP's point is that this is a case of religion being an empty letter. I would add that it's about time the Orthodox accepted that religious tradition can be passed on perfectly well by the father, too. instead of putting the onus on the non-Jewish women they have somehow failed to convince their sons not to marry.
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@Alexandria: What about the elders on her side?
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Hopefully when this is all over there will be some infraction detected that will land Charles Kushner back in prison, this time next to the Teflon Don and Jared.
The idea that this young woman needs to convert to her husband's religion, in order to satisfy the demands of his ex-con father, is my definition of an unnatural act.
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I have always felt that a religious conversion should be based on true faith. Pressuring someone to convert completely negates the act of conversion. It may have worked with Ivanka but if Ms. Kloss doesn’t completely believe conversion would be a phony, empty gesture.
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Ivanka, like most Trumps, views this as more of a business transaction. Kushners? Meh...
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Conversion is not part of this discussion. It has been around since time infanatum #Ruth. That is a personnal family issue and obviously she and her husband have been able to work around it.
To me the discussion here is more people speakimg out, doing what is right, and making a difference. They have money and they have celebrity, that equals getting the word out!
1
Run, Karlie, run - and don't look back ! By the time this is all over, you're not going to want your kids saddled with the last name of the owners of 666 Fifth Avenue, anymore than you'd want them to be pariahs bearing the last name of The Orange Jabberwock.
Take a lesson from poor Complicit Ivanka, who's now stuck; D.C.'s a trap, and she can't just click her heels to 'go back' to some sort of decent life as it was before.
The referenced selection of Jared as Most Likely To Be Indicted is proof positive that all of life is just a version of high school, writ large.
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I’m fed up to the gills with Beautiful People. Even the ones who have a social conscience and liberal politics toss around net worths measured in billions. All I can think of is that those billions came from lots of little people who didn’t have billions. Having worked all my life, my entire bank account wouldn’t keep them in gilded toilet paper for a week.
I’m sure Ivanka had promise before she was swallowed by the pressures of fame and palace intrigue, but all of this this is small ball compared to the major league moron who squats in the catbird’s seat.
It may not be fair to say it, but anyone who has anything to do with the commander in chief, whether by birth or association, does not interest me. The glittering little jewels that flit around this cow pie of a president just remind me of this horrible man, what he stands for and what he’s doing to this country.
I’d like to have President Obama back. He was an honorable man. He wasn’t perfect, but he made fewer errors in eight years than the man who currently befouls the Oval Office makes in an hour. Obama was modest, intelligent, graceful and poised. His wife didn’t have to worry about his sordid affairs, and his children were normal. They didn’t hawk jewelry at Walmart or attend galas in clothes that cost more than my house.
I’ll give Karlie Kloss a break, though. If she can embarrass the president in some small way, that might be good for a laugh. And boy, do we need one.
1620
I'd like to have Obama back, too. In fact, I am desperate to have someone of his character--an honorable, curious, intelligent, and thoughtful president who made decisions to move the country forward and improve the lives of Americans. In other words, the antithesis of what we have now in the Oval Office. Of course he wasn't perfect--no one is. But he understood and respected his position and its importance to the country. We can't say that about the current president or his family members who enable him.Maybe they should spend more time with Josh and Karlie.
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I hope I don’t to have to cite how many times I read how wonderful it was for the country that Mrs.Obama was considered to be beyond beautiful.
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I would like the Obama back who showed up occasionally, mainly in private, with a wicked sense of humor and a deadpan delivery and a black sensibility that would have sent a lot of white people up the wall, and did every time he allowed it to show. The Republican readiness to play the race card pressured him into stifling himself so he could be the leader of people who were never going to accept him anyway.
The Donald gets away (sort of) with being himself in spite of all the pressure on him to stifle himself. Obama did not believe in confrontation. I wish he had.
61
With friends like a Kushner who's bored
You've tied in with a real slumlord
Ivanka who buys
From sweatshops, surprise?
With Donald they're right in accord.
A Father-in-law to adore
Who wonders what they're around for,
They're free with the Talk,
Do not walk the walk
Have cash but they want a lot more.
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Hats off to you Larry!
Another gem....
4
Acknowledging his family's business history, Jared was named "Most Likely to Be Indicted" in his high school yearbook.
As for his brother and wife, they would be wise to pursue legal separation, from the rest of the Kushner clan, that is, and do it soon!
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Hoping for a divorce? That’s not beyond decency?
10
Look Ahead was not speaking of divorce, just having Josh and Karlie separate from the Kushner clan. In other words, rid themselves of the stain of Jared and Kushner clan.
1