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France’s establishment reacted with a mixture of resignation and muted scorn to president-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of real estate developer, pardoned felon and family connection Charles Kushner as US ambassador to France.
Kushner is the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who occupied a variety of prominent posts in his first administration. The 70-year-old real estate executive was a big donor to Trump’s 2024 campaign.
He also received a presidential pardon at the end of Trump’s first term after he was convicted on multiple counts of tax evasion, campaign finance violations and witness tampering, for which he spent time in jail. He was released in 2006.
“He is a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our Country & its interests,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday as he announced his choice for ambassador, which will need to be confirmed by the US Senate.
The news was met with scepticism on the other side of the Atlantic. “I recommend reading his résumé. ‘Juicy’ as the Americans would say . . . Needless to say, he has no knowledge of our country. At least he will have access to the president. We console ourselves as best we can,” former French ambassador to the US Gérard Araud wrote on X.
“Does he speak French at least?” one commenter asked. “Obviously not,” Araud replied. Araud later added: “In the madness of Trump’s nominations, there is expressed the near total contempt for human respect, customs and the law.”
François Heisbourg, senior adviser for Europe at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, questioned whether France would refuse to approve “the nomination of this sad character” on X. “Though rare, this type of refusal is part of the diplomatic prerogatives of sovereign states.”
One French banker simply replied with an eye-roll emoji when asked for an opinion on the picking of Kushner.
Nominees for US ambassadorships, especially sought-after postings such as the one in Paris, are often political donors or political allies of US presidents. Among them was Howard Leach, a food-processing magnate who spoke no French but was appointed by George W Bush as ambassador from 2001-05.
In his first term, Trump sent Jamie McCourt — a campaign donor who with her now-divorced husband once owned the LA Dodgers baseball team — to Paris as his envoy. However, the nomination of a convicted felon and family connection is highly unusual even by the standards of recent American diplomatic appointments.
The US’s first emissary to occupy the post was Benjamin Franklin. Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe also served in the role.
The nomination comes at a complex time for US-France relations, as Trump pressures European allies to substantially increase defence spending. During his campaign he also cast doubt on America’s continued support for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia’s invasion, whereas France has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine. Trump has claimed he would end the conflict in a day, without detailing how.
President Emmanuel Macron attempted to use charm and personal rapport to smooth the relationship with Trump during his first term in the White House, but often that was insufficient to bridge the gulf on issues ranging from the role of Nato to Middle Eastern politics or climate treaties. Macron is also in a much weaker position politically now, having lost snap elections he called this summer.
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