WASHINGTON (JTA) — Donald Trump’s campaign denied a report that he reprimanded his Jewish son-in-law after a planned visit to Israel fell through because of the candidate’s controversial comments on Muslims.
New York magazine, in a profile of the front-runner in the race for the Republican presidential nod, reported Sunday that Trump was upset with Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, for suggesting the visit.
“When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Trump’s proposal to halt Muslim immigration, Trump canceled the trip,” the magazine reported. “‘This was all your idea!’ Trump scolded his son-in-law, according to a source.”
In an email to JTA, however, campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks wrote: “This is totally and unequivocally false. The story was not fact checked.”
Trump canceled the visit, planned for late December, after Netanyahu said on Dec. 9 that he “rejected” the real estate magnate’s remarks about Muslims, saying Israel “respects all religions.”
Trump had called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. He later said Netanyahu’s statement was “inappropriate.”
According to the New York profile, Kushner and Ken Kurson, the editor of the New York Observer, which Kushner owns, wrote Trump’s speech last month to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual conference. The speech was well received.
