William Gibbs McAdoo

Presidential In-Laws: Jared Kushner Is No William Gibbs McAdoo (Wilson) Or Sargent Shriver (Kennedy)!

There have been Presidential in-laws who have worked for Presidents before Jared Kushner, son in-law of President Donald Trump.

William Gibbs McAdoo, son in-law of President Woodrow Wilson, served as Wilson’s Secretary of the Treasury for the first six years of Wilson’s Presidency, and was crucial in the economic buildup for World War I.

Sargent Shriver, brother in-law of President John F. Kennedy, served as the first head of the Peace Corps, and went on to serve as the head of the War on Poverty under Lyndon B. Johnson, and as Ambassador to France under Johnson and Richard Nixon.

Both were solid citizens who made major contributions, and I discuss this in my recent article on History News Network, out this week, and found on the right side of the blog.

Jared Kushner, by comparison is a spoiled rich kid, who has no special qualifications to be in charge of so many different responsibilities under his father in law. Now with the revelation of his contacts with the Russian Ambassador, including suggestions that they have contact outside of official channels, is making Kushner an albatross around Donald Trump’s neck. However it is clear that Kushner would not have become involved in such dealings without Trump’s support and knowledge, so it puts Trump under further suspicion and investigation.

So do not expect that Kushner will ever reach long term the significance of either McAdoo or Shriver, and in fact, will likely contribute to the downfall of Donald Trump.