Mary Trump is asking why one of her family members isn’t in prison. In a conversation with Steven Beschloss, she was very critical of Hakeem Jeffries, the man expected to be the next Speaker of the House, for sitting down with the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
“I think Hakeem Jeffries has disqualified himself, and that happened months ago when he met with Jared Kushner, as if Jared Kushner should have been part of this conversation other than to say, ‘When is he going to prison?’” Mary Trump said.
Jeffries came under attack from fellow Democrats in August following a New York Times report published on Sunday, August 23, which reported that he and Kushner had met privately to discuss common ground on issues such as housing, immigration and the high cost of living. Jeffries said he had agreed to the meeting to discuss the affordability crisis in the U.S.
Mary Trump said Kushner then kept leaking the meeting, putting Jeffries on the defensive and leaving him to insist Democrats would be all about accountability. “Why are you meeting with a man who is not even part of this government to immunize him? It was one of the biggest blunders I have seen, and he did not have a good response,” she said in the Substack conversation.
Now, she said, he is acting as if demanding accountability is akin to some kind of mob retribution. “Accountability is not getting even. If somebody robs your house and you go to the police station to demand that the person who robbed you gets arrested and then potentially tried, is that getting even, or is that getting justice?”
She continued: “The American people want justice. Clearly, Hakeem Jeffries is not cut out for this at all. He, much like Merrick Garland, is the wrong man at the wrong time.”
She said Jeffries seems not to be talking to his caucus, since many other Democratic members of Congress are absolutely leading with accountability. “So I really hope somebody challenges Jeffries. His speakership feels almost inevitable.”
Beschloss had set up the question by criticizing what he called a worrying, cautious response from Jeffries about an accountability agenda, saying Jeffries emphasized that this will not be about “getting even” but about “getting things done,” as if the serving of justice and the confronting of corruption are not critical.
Beschloss added that he was pleased with House Oversight Committee member Robert Garcia’s viral threat to Trump’s White House: “Lawyer up.” He also acknowledged Ron Wyden, who will likely chair the Senate Finance Committee, for warning about “subpoenas.” He then asked Mary how tough and ruthless Democrats should be, who their key targets should be, and who ought to lead them.
In an X post responding to the meeting in August, Jeffries was absolutely clear: “No one from the Trump Cartel is getting a pass.”
“I shouldn’t have to say it, but I am: No one is going to get a pass,” he said in the accompanying video.
He pledged to follow the facts, apply the law, and be guided by the Constitution from day one, and to hold the crooks accountable.