President-elect Donald J. Trump has announced that he will be nominating Charles Kushner, a wealthy real estate executive and father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to France. This appointment comes after a long-standing relationship between the two men, with Mr. Kushner receiving a pardon from Trump in his first term and later becoming a major donor to Trump’s 2024 campaign.
Charles Kushner, 70, pleaded guilty in 2004 to various charges including tax evasion and hiring a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law. Trump granted him clemency in his final days in office, along with other close associates such as Paul Manafort and Roger J. Stone Jr.
Despite being seen as a prestigious ambassadorship, Kushner’s nomination could be complicated by Trump’s past clashes with French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump had expressed support for Macron’s far-right challenger in the 2017 French presidential election, Marine Le Pen, and has sparred with Macron on issues such as NATO support for Ukraine and the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
Kushner’s appointment as ambassador to France is expected to further solidify the deep ties between the Kushner family and the Trump administration. It remains to be seen how Kushner’s past legal issues and Trump’s controversial foreign policy decisions will impact his role as ambassador to one of the United States’ key allies in Europe.
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