Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie went after former President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner during his campaign launch on Tuesday, accusing them of grifting.
“The grift from this is breathtaking. It’s breathtaking. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Kushner walk out of the White House and months later get $2 billion from the Saudis? Two billion dollars from the Saudis,” Christie said. “You think it’s ’cause some kind of investing genius? Or do you think it’s because he was sitting next to the president of the United States for four years doing favors for the Saudis?”
“That’s your money. That’s your money he stole and gave it to his family,” he continued. “You know what that makes us? A banana republic. That’s what it makes us.”
Kushner served in his father-in-law’s administration as a senior advisor overseeing Middle East policy. Months after leaving the White House, Kushner’s investment firm received a $2 billion investment from the Saudi-backed Public Investment Fund, which is controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into the $2 billion investment last year to determine whether Kushner’s personal financial interests improperly influenced U.S. foreign policy.
