On Saturday, longtime media personality Geraldo Rivera – who has been friends with President Donald Trump since the 1970s – put former New York City councilor Joe Borelli on blast during an appearance on CNN. Rivera and the MAGA loyalist were discussing allegations of Jared Kushner’s “potential conflicts of interest” in his business dealings with Israel when Rivera asked Borelli how he could be so “naive” about the obvious corruption.
According to Mediate, while appearing on Table for Five, Borelli “battled the entire panel as he defended Kushner and slammed CNN’s reporting on his company’s connection in a business that provides arms to the Israeli military. Kushner lashed out at the report this week, calling it ‘misleading.’ The ‘potential conflict of interest’ comes from Kushner’s Affinity Partners, which owns a large stake in Phoenix Financial, a Tel-Aviv based firm that has invested hundreds of millions into an Israeli arms manufacturer. They are invested in other companies that also provide equipment to the military.”
CNN’s Abby Phillip and others on the show asserted that Kushner’s business dealings are concerning considering his roles as an envoy for the White House, negotiating peace deals in places like Gaza. The report notes that there is no evidence that Kushner’s actions led to further profits for Phoenix, but the company has seen its value skyrocket while Kushner has praised the investment.
Borelli was Kushner’s sole defender on the CNN panel, writes Mediate. “Jared Kushner owns an investment company. The investment company owns a percentage of an Israeli investment company, which owns $250 billion of assets, including thousands of companies that they own shares in,” Borelli asserted, to which Rivera retorted, “How naive of you, man!” asking, “You’re saying that they have no interest, that there’s no connection?”
According to Mediate, “The debate then fell into loud crosstalk as Borelli exclaimed that the company’s trading is all public record and that defense investments is just a ‘small part’ of their portfolio. Rivera pushed back, arguing there should be concern about Kushner’s wealth growing from these business ties as he continues to act as a key negotiator.”
While Rivera has enjoyed a decades-long friendship with Trump, even appearing on his show Celebrity Apprentice in 2015, the media figure has increasingly distanced himself from the president over his 2020 election denial claims and other issues. In Rivera’s estimation, there is a direct link between the allegations of Kushner’s corruption and Trump’s suffering poll numbers. As Rivera said on CNN, “Is their wealth affected by their public actions? In other words, do the things they do as the designated, you know, ambassador… whatever you call them, do the things they do affect their personal wealth, yes or no? The answer is, of course it affects their personal wealth and to be childish about it and to be so defensive about it is an indication that this is why the president is losing popularity.”