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CNN’s Paul Begala Compares Jared And Ivanka To Cockroaches, Then Clarifies

CNN

Mike Brest Reporter
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CNN political contributor Paul Begala likened Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump to cockroaches Tuesday, during a segment on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”

The panel was discussing HuffPost editor Vicky Ward’s new book “Kushner Inc.” in which she alleges that President Donald Trump was looking for ways to get rid of Ivanka and Jared because they were a source of constant negative press.

“The president, according to this book, was frustrated with Ivanka and Jared because they’ve generated bad press,” Tapper began. “He devised a plan with his then-Chief of Staff John Kelly to make life tough for them, so that they would go back to New York City. Regardless, Jared and Ivanka, on the facts — forget the book for a second — they have outlasted everybody.”

“I do find this fictional,” Urban stated. “There’s a lot of books that are written that you see. No grains of truth in some of them. I think this — imagining the president telling John Kelly, ‘Let’s get rid of my kids, send them back to New York,’ — I have been around the president and Jared and Ivanka, and I can tell you that’s pure fiction and not believable whatsoever.”

“What do you take from this book? Is it a sign that loyalty is preeminent with Trump?” Tapper followed up.

“I don’t think so,” Begala answered. “No, I think mediocrity is. When you’re too mediocre for even Donald Trump, you’ve really got a problem. Of course they survived. Cockroaches are going to survive nuclear war.”

“You’re not calling Ivanka and Jared cockroaches,” Tapper responded. (RELATED: Ivanka Turns Heads In Yellow And Black Floral Dress During Munich Trip)

“No. No. I’m talking about a separate class of species. When they took this job, I thought it was an enormous mistake. I don’t believe in criticizing politicians families. They are no longer family,” Begala added. “They’re government officials, they work for me. So we should hold them to a high standard.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders previously told The Daily Caller, in response to Ward’s book:

It’s sad, but not surprising, the media would spend time promoting a book based on shady anonymous sources and false information instead of all the incredible work Jared and Ivanka are doing for the country. The author, on her own website, listed this book in the category of ‘fiction’ – until recently changing it. Her initial representation was accurate.

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