Jared And Ivanka ‘Exfoliate’ Friends As Social Circle Pushes Back Against Trump
Image by Getty Images
Jared Kushner has lost so many friends since he became a close adviser to President Trump that he has even coined a term for it: exfoliation.
“We live in a world and time that are interesting,” he is said to have told investor Wiley Cerilli. “I am seeing which friendships break in the wind.”
Kushner said he was happy to “exfoliate” pals who would not remain loyal to him in the face of political differences.
Cerilli was one of those axed from Kushner’s inner circle, according to a story in Business Insider. He asked Kushner to withdraw last year from a shared business venture due to Trump’s divisive rhetoric, and the remarks come from a phone transcript that Cerilli kept when he made the request.
Other liberal friends have ditched Kushner, now a White House senior adviser.
“I’m not planning on being friends,” one ex-pal told Business Insider. “I don’t think I’m going to be over it… I feel really, really upset about what they’re doing.”
Many had placed their hope in Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, to push the president on a more moderate path, especially on social issues. So far there’s been scant evidence of that.
Kushner has taken a sanguine attitude about losing his ex-friends over politics. An ally quoted Kushner as saying, “If you’re doing well in politics, only 45% of the people hate you.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
