Son-in-law provides a steadying influence in Donald Trump world

It was the low point for a campaign that had been in steady decline for weeks.

Less than 24 hours earlier, an 11-year-old recording of Donald J Trump boasting about forcing himself on women had surfaced and gone viral. Now, on a Saturday morning in October, his closest advisors had assembled in his Trump Tower apartment to discuss what to do.

The group included a handful of seasoned politicians and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, an Orthodox Jew who ordinarily observes the Sabbath strictly.

While the others — Governor Chris Christie, Rudolph W Giuliani, Reince Priebus — emphasised the gravity of the situation, urging Trump to express contrition, Kushner reminded him of what he had built. Amid the discussions, the Republican candidate briefly went down to greet 100 or so supporters gathered in front of the building. “There’s 2,500 people down there,” Trump told his advisors when he returned.

“Those are the people who are going to elect you president,” Kushner replied, opting not to correct the candidate’s crowd estimate. “Don’t worry about the other people.” In the chaos that often seems to surround Trump — the churn of advisors, the Twitter wars with reporters, the daily uncertainty over who is making decisions — Kushner has emerged as the closest thing to a steadying influence, injecting optimism, playing down controversies and reinforcing Trump’s perceptions, worldview and instincts.

In an ever-shifting organisation chart of friends and advisers, Kushner, 35, has been the lone constant. Raised by one family that prizes loyalty above all else, he married into another. And he is well acquainted with Trump’s personality type, with his own father a volatile real estate magnate.

Now, there is talk of his following Trump into the White House. What some may see as Kushner’s greatest liabilities as an advisor — his lack of political experience, policy expertise or familiarity with the ways of Washington — the president-elect views as his greatest strength: A single-minded devotion without a competing agenda.

“Everyone else has their own constituencies, but Jared is just there to protect the interests of the president,” said Thomas Barrack Jr, a longtime friend of Trump’s who is heading up the inaugural committee.

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