Chris Christie, the former New Jersey Governor, revealed on Monday that President Trump had once asked him damaging information on his now-son-in-law Jared Kushner, so he could break him up with Ivanka.
Speaking at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Christie said that Trump’s request came at a point when he was still U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. He also mentioned that the President gets himself worked into a “lather” and “will say and do anything to get what he wants.”
Recalling the early stages of Ivanka and Kushner’s relationship, Christie said that once the couple got together, it became clear to Trump that they were planning to get married. However, he did not like the idea, and Christie said, “He has said this publicly, that he would have rather had her marry Tom Brady, which might be the only popular thing he could say in New England, to say nice things about Tom Brady. But he was not thrilled, let’s say, about this.”
Christie: It became clear to Trump that Jared and Ivanka would get married. He was not thrilled about this. I was still the prosecutor. He asked me to go out to dinner and said, do you have anything more on the family, so I can break this up? pic.twitter.com/nRz6VIFeoZ
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 6, 2026
It is important to note here that back at that time, Christie was not only serving as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, he had also prosecuted Jared’s father, Charles Kushner, in 2005. Charles had pleaded guilty and served 24 months in prison for tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions, and witness tampering.
Christie also detailed the Charles Kushner case as he said that the man had hired someone to entice his sister’s husband. He then videotaped the whole encounter and showed it to his sister. His sister cooperated with authorities as a witness and Charles ultimately served his sentence.
However, this episode alone did not seem enough for Trump. He wanted more on Jared and, therefore, as Charles said, Trump took him out one night for dinner and asked him, “Do you have anything more on the family, so I can break this up?”
Christie said, “I thought to myself, haven’t I given you enough? Her prospective father-in-law hired someone to entice his own sister’s husband, videotape it, hold it, and then send it to her on the day of her son’s engagement party. I looked at him like, not enough, huh, to say, ‘That might be a family I want to stay away from.’ But that’s Trump. When he gets himself worked into a lather, he will say and do anything to get what he wants.”
“It’s one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted…and I was the U.S. attorney in New Jersey.”@ChrisChristie talks about prosecuting Charles Kushner for tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions and witness tampering. #FiringLineShowPBS pic.twitter.com/rBNn0j0bCY
— Firing Line with Margaret Hoover (@FiringLineShow) January 29, 2019
The recounting of this episode showed Trump’s persistence, as Christie also pointed out. However, his attempts at breaking Ivanka and Jared clearly failed as the couple tied the knot in October 2009.
Moreover, Trump also seems to have gotten over his dislike of the Kushner family as by the end of his first term, he not only pardoned Charles, but also announced during his 2024 election campaign that he would be appointed ambassador to France and Monaco.
Jared also appears to be in Trump’s good graces, despite the President not initially wanting him to become his son-in-law. Not only was he a White House adviser for Trump’s entire first term, he also appeared to be central in various negotiations, including the U.S. negotiations over the Israel-Gaza war, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the ongoing U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran.
