Donald Trump is “obviously thinking” about running for president again in 2024, his son-in-law said today.
Jared Kushner revealed that the former president has asked him about a potential second run for the White House.
In an interview with Sky News presenter Kay Burley, Mr Kushner - who is married to the firebrand Republican’s daughter Ivanka Trump and was his senior adviser in the White House - said he would “rather not go into” what Mr Trump asked him, but added: “But basically, I know that he’s obviously thinking about it.
“He hates seeing what’s happening in the country.”
The former reality show host defied the odds to become president in 2016 but was defeated by Joe Biden in 2020 in an election he branded a “fraud”.
Asked if Mr Trump was preparing another run for the White House, he said “nobody can speak for him on that”.
“He’s asked me about it. I said, ‘You know, it’s tricky’.”
Asked again if his father-in-law was considering running for president again, Mr Kushner added: “With Trump it’s hard to rule anything out, he’s a very flexible thing.”
Mr Kushner also dismissed the importance of an FBI raid at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last month.
It comes as President Joe Biden warned that “equality and democracy are under assault” in the US as he sounded an alarm about his predecessor.
The President labelled “MAGA Republican” adherents an extremist threat to America and its future.
Mr Biden used his prime-time speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on Thursday night to argue that Mr Trump and “Make America Great Again” allies are a challenge to nation’s system of government, its standing abroad and its citizens’ way of life.
“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic,” Mr Biden declared.
He continued by saying that the former president’s supporters “are determined to take this country backward”, “promote authoritarian leaders” and “fan the flames of political violence”.
Mr Biden added: “(They want to take the country) backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.
“For a long time, we’ve reassured ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it is not. We have to defend it. Protect it. Stand up for it. Each and every one of us.”
The explicit effort by Mr Biden to marginalise Mr Trump and his adherents marks a sharp turn for the President, who preached his desire to bring about national unity in his Inaugural address.
White House officials said it reflects his mounting concern about Trump allies’ ideological proposals and relentless denial of the nation’s 2020 election results.
