‘We’ll all be dead by June’: Jared Kushner ‘exploded’ in anger over mask shipment delay, report says

Former president’s son-in-law undertook a prominent role in administration’s handling of pandemic

Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and former senior White House adviser, allegedly lashed out at a former official over the delay of a shipment of PPE during the onset of the pandemic, a report has said.

The Washington Post reports that a new book by journalists Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta, featuring interviews with more 180 people, revealed the heated moment and other “toxic” behaviours within the administration.

Mr Kushner, who was at the time playing a prominent role in the administration’s coronavirus response, allegedly lashed out at Robert Kadlec, former assistant secretary of Health and Human Services, in March.

“You f***ing moron,” Mr Kushner allegedly said to Mr Kadlec in a dispute over an order of 600 million masks that would not arrive until the beginning of summer: “We’ll all be dead by June.”

The senior adviser also purportedly threw his pen against the wall in frustration as he “exploded in anger” over the delay.

The book reportedly describes a host of such chaotic scenes from the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic, which has largely been criticised since the former president left office.

“That was what the response had turned into: a toxic environment in which no matter where you turned, someone was ready to rip your head off or threatening to fire you,” the authors write.

The book, titled Nightmare Scenario: Inside the Trump Administration’s Response to the Pandemic That Changed History, is set to be released in at the end of June.

Mr Kushner has also confirmed to be working on his own memoir of his time in office expected for release in early 2020 which will touch on “what happened behind closed doors,” Broadside Books, the publisher, said.

Mr Trump’s son-in-law was often the target of criticism for the administration’s management of coronavirus having taken on such a central role in its handling amid a broad portfolio of other commitments across the White House.

The Independent has reached out to the Kushner company for comment regarding the report.