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Ivanka Was A Big Supporter Of "The Mooch," And Here's Why

by Jenny Hollander
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Alas! "The Mooch" is loose. After a frenetic ten-day tenure as communications director, President Trump pushed Anthony Scaramucci to resign at the request of Gen. John Kelly. The drama unfolded before even the end of Kelly's first day as Trump's chief of staff, so it would appear that Kelly and Trump didn't spend much time debating the matter. One White House pair, however, can't be as pleased as Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer are right now: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner had supported Scaramucci as communications director. Trump's decision, once again, underlies how little gravity Ivanka and Kushner's opinions hold in Trump's White House.

Per Politico, both Ivanka and her husband "strongly supported" the appointment of Scaramucci. They had also pushed for the dismissal of ex-chief of staff Reince Priebus in favor of new blood, like Scaramucci and Kelly. A Politico interview with an administration official noted: "The first official added that Scaramucci had the backing of Trump son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner."

Meanwhile, a Washington Post interview with another administration source noted: "Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser; Jared Kushner, her husband and another senior adviser; and first lady Melania Trump have been privately pressing the president to shake up his team — most specifically by replacing Reince Priebus as the White House chief of staff." A Vanity Fair piece also described the Mooch as being "unfailingly loyal" to both Ivanka and Kushner.

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Which begs the question: What did Ivanka and Kushner think about the unceremonious and public firing of Scaramucci after just a few days in the Trump administration?

Like many of Trump's more controversial decisions (see: the decision to ban transgender soldiers from the military), the couple have so far refrained from commenting. However, the situation points to a larger issue: In spite of liberals' best hopes, Ivanka and Kushner have proven themselves to have very little sway with the senior Trump. Paid family leave for everyday Americans is still a distant dream; Trump stamped out any support in the LGBTQ community with his decision regarding the trans military ban; and even though Kushner and Ivanka supported Scaramucci, Trump was comfortable relegating "The Mooch" to become the butt of jokes.

Ultimately, it doesn't appear to matter how Kushner and Ivanka feel about the short and sweet tenure of The Mooch, circa 2017. Whether they supported his firing or opposed it, all signs point to the president not paying much attention.