Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are plotting an exit strategy from the White House, according to a new report -- but it's probably too late to save their reputations.
The couple was seen as a potential moderating influence on President Donald Trump when they joined the White House staff, but their high-profile roles have quickly exposed their personal and professional limitations, according to a deeply reported article in Vanity Fair.
One veteran Washington insider told the magazine that the president’s eldest daughter and son-in-law lacked the self-awareness to sit on the sidelines until they learned what they didn’t know about their new positions of power and influence.
“What is off-putting about them is they do not grasp their essential irrelevance,” the Washington veteran said. “They think they are special.”
The couple does enjoy some perks that come from their relationship as “first among equals” in the White House, according to the Washington veteran -- although West Wing advisers reportedly mock Ivanka as “princess royal” behind her back.
“Trump is emotionally dependent on his son-in-law and his daughter,” said the Washington veteran. “But they can’t do anything for him. All they can do is make him feel better about what his life has come to.”
The couple has been surprised and disappointed by their reception in Washington, and have lost friends back in elite circles in New York City
One former friend said Kushner has traded up to a higher-powered circle that included other administration officials, as well as Saudi royalty.
“I haven’t had anything to do with them since they moved,” one New York friend told the magazine, “and it is because the day that man gave an inaugural speech, what am I going to say? ‘What the f*ck is wrong with you?’"
Sources suggested to Vanity Fair that they’re planning to leave the White House at the end of the school year in 2018, although one friend said the couple wasn't planning that far ahead.
“When they decide it’s more important to protect their own and their children’s reputations than it is to defend their indefensible father’s, that’s a sign the end is near,” said one influential Republican donor.
