美国国家公共电台 NPR The Rise Of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's Son-In-Law

The Rise Of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump¹'s Son-In-Law

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Donald Trump places great faith in his son-in-law Jared Kushner. The New York Times reports that Trump wants Kushner in the White House, and he's exploring whether he can take a position. It's problematic, though, because even an unpaid³ job could fall under a law prohibiting nepotism⁴. People are supposed to be loyal to the country above their family. NPR's David Folkenflik has a profile of an understated powerbroker.

DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE⁵: Though also a developer, Jared Kushner is many things that Donald Trump is not. He's 35 years old. That's half Trump's age. He's an Orthodox Jew. Trump has been accused of promoting anti-Semitic themes. He shies away from the limelight. The president-to-be would not be described that way. Jared Kushner does few interviews and declined our request through a spokeswoman. Here's what he sounds like.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JARED KUSHNER: It's funny. When I think back kind of on starting my career, the last place I thought I would be would be spending a lot of time in Brooklyn.

FOLKENFLIK: This is from a keynote address he gave at a real estate conference in 2014.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KUSHNER: About four years ago, through our different media companies and our venture business, you know, I started noticing that a lot of the kids in the companies were really living and wanting to work here.

STEVE KORNACKI: I think Jared is an unusually polished person.

FOLKENFLIK: That's MSNBC anchor and correspondent Steve Kornacki. He covered Jared Kushner's family as a political reporter in New Jersey⁷ and later worked for him at The New York Observer newspaper.

KORNACKI: I've heard so many stories of Jared being groomed⁸ from a very young age - really, from from when he was a child - to be playing a prominent role in the business world, in sort of the elite⁹ world - in elite circles.

FOLKENFLIK: Kushner's father, Charles, was a developer who made a fortune in New Jersey real estate. Charles Kushner gave to charities, hospitals and universities, including Harvard, which admitted Jared Kushner after a $2.5 million gift, according to a book by the journalist Daniel Golden. And Charles Kushner also gave to politicians, mostly Democrats¹⁰. The elder Kushner spoke⁶ of his family as the Jewish Kennedys with respectable children of a roguish father. Charles Kushner's lawyer once described him this way.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BENJAMIN BRAFMAN: I think, as everyone knows, Mr. Kushner is one of the most successful businessmen in the United States and one of the great philanthropists of this century.

FOLKENFLIK: That lawyer, Ben Brafman, said those words on the federal courthouse steps in Newark. A top federal prosecutor¹¹ had caught the elder Kushner in his sights, then U.S. Attorney Chris Christie. Here's what Christie had to say about Charles Kushner in 2004.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHRIS CHRISTIE: Mr. Kushner engaged in a conspiracy¹², with co-conspirators, to hire prostitutes to entice¹³ witnesses who were cooperating with the federal investigation¹⁴.

FOLKENFLIK: Charles Kushner had set up his own brother-in-law and intended to blackmail¹⁵ him by threatening to expose him to his sister. Steve Kornacki covered the saga¹⁶.

KORNACKI: Chris Christie's rise in politics in New Jersey, in many ways, was built on his takedown of Charles Kushner. He got national headlines for that prosecution¹⁷.

FOLKENFLIK: Charles Kushner went to jail. Christie would become governor. Jared Kushner, just in his mid-20s, led his family's vast holdings and, according to people who know him, quietly nursed a grievance¹⁸.

KORNACKI: To the extent anybody had heard of the Kushner name at that point, it was a very tarnished¹⁹ name.

FOLKENFLIK: The younger Kushner made the conscious decision to push east from New Jersey into New York City. He bought The New York Observer, read faithfully by the city's elites²⁰ in media, real estate and finance. In 2007, the family acquired a giant complex on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan for $1.8 billion.

KORNACKI: They overpaid - and probably knowingly overpaid for it - because they - it was the exact same idea as the as the Observer. They wanted something that just commanded instant status and recognition.

FOLKENFLIK: In 2009, Kushner married Ivanka Trump. She converted to Judaism with her father's support, and the two men enjoyed a warm rapport²¹. During the campaign, one young Observer writer challenged Kushner in his own pages, accusing him of giving Trump's most hateful supporters the tacit approval of his Jewish son-in-law.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "INSIDE EDITION")

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you think that Donald Trump is an anti-Semite?

DANA SCHWARTZ: As an individual, no.

FOLKENFLIK: Observer culture reporter Dana Schwartz appeared on the TV show "Inside Edition" in July.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "INSIDE EDITION")

SCHWARTZ: His supporters, many of them, absolutely are. And his willingness to continue to wink²² at them and acknowledge them is horrifying²³.

FOLKENFLIK: Kushner invoked²⁴ his grandparents' experience surviving the Holocaust²⁵ and vouched²⁶ for Trump's lack of bigotry²⁷. In recent days, Donald Trump's transition chief lost his responsibilities and standing²⁸. That would be Chris Christie, the person who had put Kushner's father in federal prison. Kushner's associates have told reporters Chris Christie's history with the Kushners had nothing to do with his humbling²⁹. But then, Jared Kushner always did speak quietly.

David Folkenflik, NPR News, New York.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

4 nepotism   

n.任人唯亲；裙带关系

参考例句：

• The congressman lashed the president for his nepotism.国会议员抨击总统搞裙带关系。
• Many will regard his appointment as the kind of nepotism British banking ought to avoid.很多人会把他的任命看作是英国银行业应该避免的一种裙带关系。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

8 groomed   

v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗

参考例句：

• She is always perfectly groomed. 她总是打扮得干净利落。
• Duff is being groomed for the job of manager. 达夫正接受训练，准备当经理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

12 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

13 entice   

v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿

参考例句：

• Nothing will entice the children from television.没有任何东西能把孩子们从电视机前诱开。
• I don't see why the English should want to entice us away from our native land.我不明白，为什英国人要引诱我们离开自己的国土。

14 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

15 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

16 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

17 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

18 grievance   

n.怨愤，气恼，委屈

参考例句：

• He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
• He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。

19 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

20 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

21 rapport   

n.和睦，意见一致

参考例句：

• She has an excellent rapport with her staff.她跟她职员的关系非常融洽。
• We developed a high degree of trust and a considerable personal rapport.我们发展了高度的互相信任和不错的私人融洽关系。

22 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

23 horrifying   

a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的

参考例句：

• He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。

24 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

26 vouched   

v.保证( vouch的过去式和过去分词 )；担保；确定；确定地说

参考例句：

• He vouched his words by his deeds. 他用自己的行动证明了自己的言辞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Have all those present been vouched for? 那些到场的人都有担保吗？ 来自互联网

27 bigotry   

n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等

参考例句：

• She tried to dissociate herself from the bigotry in her past.她力图使自己摆脱她以前的偏见。
• At least we can proceed in this matter without bigotry.目前这件事咱们至少可以毫无偏见地进行下去。

28 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

29 humbling   

adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 )；轻松打败（尤指强大的对手）；低声下气

参考例句：

• A certain humbling from time to time is good. 不时受点儿屈辱是有好处的。 来自辞典例句
• It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-buildingexperience. 据说天文学是一种令人产生自卑、塑造人格的科学。 来自互联网