A fight between two of Donald Trump’ closest advisers has grown so bitter that Steve Bannon now calls Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a “cuck” behind his back, The Daily Beast reports.
The insult, popular among the conservative Breitbart News set (Bannon led Breitbart before joining the Trump administration) is short for “cuckold,” or the husband of an adulteress. The Daily Beast explained that it can also be short for “cuckservative,” or a weak conservative. The Daily Beast says Bannon has derisively called Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump, a “globalist.”
Kushner, publisher of The New York Observer, was a lifelong Democrat until Trump’s campaign began. Bannon, according to the Daily Beast, sees Kushner as an obstacle to influencing Trump’s political moves. Bannon was removed this week from an influential position as a member of the National Security Council, reportedly under protest.
One official told the Daily Beast that Bannon has complained about Kushner trying to “shiv him and push him out the door.”
“[Steve] recently vented to us about Jared being a ‘globalist’ and a ‘cuck’…He actually said ‘cuck,’ as in “cuckservative,’” the official told The Daily Beast.
“Steve thinks Jared is worse than a Democrat, basically,” another official told The Daily Beast. “[Steve] has a very specific vision for what he believes, and what he shares [ideologically] with Trump. And he has for a long time now seen [Jared] as a major obstacle to achieving that.”
Politico reported Wednesday that Kushner has complained to other officials about Bannon’s attempts to “deconstruct the government,” which Kushner believes will hurt Trump. One official told Politico that their conflict is part of a “big fight is between nationalists and the ‘West Wing Democrats.”
Breitbart has published several articles criticizing Kushner, while conservative strategist Roger Stone accused Kushner on Alex Jones’ radio show of leaking White House intel to MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough.
“Many of the anti-Steve Bannon stories that you see, the themes that you see on ‘Morning Joe,’ are being dictated by Kushner,” Stone said. “And while Mr. Kushner’s plate is very full with Middle Eastern peace and the China visit, and so on, in this case I think he is disserving the president.”
Before he ran Breitbart, Bannon was a Goldman Sachs banker and Hollywood screenwriter who made millions from a stake in “Seinfeld.”