The New York Times reported Tuesday that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were among those pushing President Trump to denounce neo-Nazis and white nationalists in Charleston, Virginia, “more forcefully” — immediately raising suspicions about who had tipped the Times off to this scoop.
The Times’ White House correspondent Glenn Thrush tweeted about the couple’s stance in the wake of Trump’s rambunctious press conference at Trump Tower, in which Trump defended his recent statements about the protests and violence over the weekend.
“You look at both sides. I think there is blame on both on both sides. I have no doubt about it … if you reported it accurately, you would say that,” he said to a furious media.
Trump also condemned what he called the “alt-left” demonstrators that charged into the crowd of alt-right protesters without a protest permit.
“Do they have any semblance of guilt? What about the fact that they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem?” he asked. “I think they do.”
In the wake of the presser, there appears to have been an effort to distance Ivanka and Kushner from the president’s stance.
Thrush tweeted that the pair had called on Trump “to more forcefully denounce neo-Nazis, KKK and white nationalists over the weekend.”
The conveniently timed leak immediately raised suspicions that the scoop was a timely leak from Kushner and Ms. Trump, whose disagreements with the president are normally picked up by the press via “sources.”
And of course, the obligatory reference to Thrush’s appearance on Saturday Night Live.
Thrush, known for his tongue-in-cheek style, brushed off the criticism, saying he “love[s] the reaction to the Javanka stuff” before engaging in a little self-mockery.
Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY