"Verbal Violence Erected as a Method of Intimidation": Le Monde on Charles Kushner, "a relay of Trumpist diplomacy in Paris"

 

In a full-page article, Charles Kushner, a relay of Trumpist diplomacy in Paris, Le Monde — aka France's newspaper of record and therefore the French equivalent of the New York Times — has published an in-depth piece on Trump's ambassador to Paris in which Philippe Karsenty is interviewed and in which, needless to say, Claire Gatinois feels it necessary to mention every controversial part of Jared's father through the decades.

Charles Kushner, relais de la diplomatie trumpiste à Paris par Claire Gatinois :

The 71-year-old diplomat, who took up his post in May 2025, is the father of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and US envoy to the Middle East. Like his son, he favors unorthodox methods and does not hesitate to interfere in French domestic affairs.

 … American diplomacy has entered a new era, where interference in the internal affairs of an allied country is no longer taboo. “The term ‘diplomacy’ is not appropriate for Trumpism, a mixture of obsessions and impulsive whims, followed by escalation, abandonment, sudden disinterest, and verbal violence,” analyzes Hubert Védrine, the former diplomatic advisor to François Mitterrand. …/… 

Business Negotiations 

Appointed to Paris on May 19, 2025, the 71-year-old reiterates that he hardly sought this position, as he is not a diplomat and readily admits it. Charles Kushner is cut from the same cloth as businessman Steve Witkoff, Trump's friend and emissary tasked with negotiating peace in Ukraine and the Middle East. The septuagenarian likes to speak his mind and use direct methods, according to those close to him. In his view, international relations are similar to business negotiations, made up of slammed doors, intimidation, and reconciliations. And "President Trump is a very good businessman," he boasted in an interview on LCI on August 28. 

“Charles Kushner isn't engaging in social niceties; he's on a mission. He's carrying the message of Trump's actions. They have grandchildren in common,” declares Philippe Karsenty, a former elected official in Neuilly-sur-Seine and now the spokesman for le Comité Trump France. Mr. Kushner’s mission? “To open France’s eyes to global issues,” continues the representative of Trump supporters in Paris, who describes Donald Trump as “Europe’s Viagra, our last chance to avoid being swept away by history.”

 … In direct contact with the White House chief, the ambassador is now multiplying meetings with his European counterparts to take the pulse of an Old Continent despised by the Trump administration. … “Charles Kushner does not want France in 2026 to resemble France in 1939,” declares Mr. Karsenty.  

 … Shunning the media – he refused requests from Le Monde – and not speaking French, the ambassador seems, since then, to have been exploring with curiosity the political landscape of his host country, accompanied by his chief of staff, Gabriel Scheinmann, who is perfectly fluent in French.

 … [Among the Frenchmen that Charles Kushner has met is] the First Secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, on December 16. The left-wing leader recalls hearing his interlocutor steer every conversation back to "business" and making the American laugh by explaining that "in our country, we don't use our credit cards to go to the hospital." Charles Kushner seemed disconcerted by "this country where people work thirty-five hours a week and retire at 62 and a bit," Mr. Faure remembers. "He thought we were all Soviets."