Jared Kushner says black people must ‘want to be successful’

26 October 2020, 21:54

Kushner-Jersey City
Kushner-Jersey City. Picture: PA

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended Mr Kushner.

Presidential adviser Jared Kushner says that President Donald Trump wants to help black people in America, but they have to “want to be successful” for his policies to work.

“President Trump’s policies are the policies that can help people break out of the problems that they’re complaining about, but he can’t want them to be successful more than they want to be successful,” Mr Kushner said on Fox & Friends.

Mr Kushner, who is President Trump’s son-in-law, also criticised prominent people who raised their voices after the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody, but then did not follow through and work to find ways to improve the lives of black people in America.

“You saw a lot of people who were just virtue signalling — they go on Instagram and cry, or they would, you know, put a slogan on their jersey or write something on a basketball court,” Mr Kushner said.

“Quite frankly, that was doing more to polarise the country than it was to bring people forward. You solve problems with solutions.”

Rep Don Beyer accused Mr Kushner of “casual racism”. Former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile wrote on Twitter: “He’s talking to folks who have suffered and endured systemic racism and historic tokenism.”

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended Mr Kushner, saying that “internet trolls” took his words out of context. She said they were trying to distract from President Trump’s “undeniable record of accomplishment” for black people.

President Trump, who has been trying to appeal to the black community, has been promoting his attempts to set up economic opportunity zones, provide steady funding for historically black colleges and universities, and institute criminal justice reforms.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Video footage shows the convoy had emergency lights flashing when it was hit

Israel admits ‘mistakenly’ killing 15 aid workers after video leak contradicted official version of events

Jaguar Land Rover has paused shipments to the US in the wake of 'Liberation Day' tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover halts shipments to US in wake of tariffs as Trump insists he'll win 'economic revolution'

Flowers and toys left on a swing seat to commemorate victims killed in Russia's missile attack on Friday

Death toll from Russian strike on Zelenskyy's home town rises as 18 confirmed dead - including nine children

Donald Trump's 10% tariff on UK products has officially come into force

Trump tariffs come into force as global stock markets plunge deeper into the red

Tom Howard

British tourist killed after being struck by boulder on trek through Himalayas

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a car burns following a Russian missile attack that killed more than a dozen people, including children, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russia kills 16 people including three children in missile strike on Zelenskyy's home town, with dozens wounded

Travel influencer Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, made an illegal visit to North Sentinel Island

Tourist who left Coke for world's most isolated tribe 'could have wiped them all out' - and police 'can't go collect can'

White House weighs in to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

White House looking to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

This image provided by NASA shows Nick Hague, right, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore. (NASA via AP)

Stranded NASA astronauts reveal they were almost trapped in space 'forever' after horror malfunction

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen'

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen' after far-right leader found guilty of embezzlement in 'witch hunt'

China will impose a 34% retaliatory tariff on imports from the US

China announces additional 34% tariffs on US imports in retaliation over Trump's 'Liberation Day' levies

Friends of Prince Andrew say he's "unsurprised" Giuffre made the post

Prince Andrew 'not surprised' his accuser shared shock post saying she had 'four days to live'

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol

South Korea president Yoon Suk Yeol removed from office as impeachment upheld over martial law declaration

Virginia Giuffre

Woman driving Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre during crash that left her with 'four days to live' breaks silence

Exclusive
'Donald Trump has made Putin comfortable,' Mikhail Khodorkovsky has warned

'Trump has made Putin comfortable' despite massive Ukraine war losses, exiled former oligarch tells LBC

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour.

British couple found dead in south of France home being ‘treated as murder-suicide’