Nikki Haley unexpectedly announced on Tuesday her resignation as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in a sit-down with President Donald Trump.
At the meeting was Ivanka Trump, who many have speculated the president will pick to replace her, as well as her husband, Jared Kushner. In her parting words, Haley took a moment out to praise Kushner.
She called him a “hidden genius no one understands,” for his work on Israel and the newly renegotiated U.S., Mexico, and Canada trade deal. The left-leaning Twitterati, which loves to mock Kushner for his obscenely wide policy role and unclear accomplishments, took issue with him being referred to that way.
https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1049678900832419847
https://twitter.com/davidegreenwald/status/1049678305602035713
tfw you’re a hidden genius that no one understand pic.twitter.com/4QQjEMwdTj
— Liz Charboneau (@lizchar) October 9, 2018
Nikki calls Jared a “hidden genius”. Real hidden. So hidden you’d think it doesn’t exist (it doesn’t).
— SKIRT (@talktoskirt) October 9, 2018
People also noted that Haley might be cribbing language from one of Trump’s favorite phrases.
https://twitter.com/JohnGHendy/status/1049678382164783104
https://twitter.com/robertsjunk/status/1049678877243691013
It’s been speculated that Ivanka and Kushner would like to return to New York. If Trump chooses his daughter to replace Haley, it’s not clear whether Kushner would remain in his current roles as a senior adviser in the administration.
Kushner saw his role in Trump’s orbit diminish when he wasn’t able to pass a permanent background check, curtailing his access to classified information.