_____________________
_____________________
By Brian Hews
Publisher | Follow X
April 25, 2026
If this were a movie script, the editor would kick it back as too on-the-nose.
Instead, it’s real life: Donald Trump tapping Jared Kushner—a real estate developer with zero formal diplomatic training—to handle high-stakes international negotiations, alongside a rotating cast of loyalists whose main qualification appears to be proximity to power.
No Senate confirmation. No decades in foreign service. No track record negotiating treaties, ceasefires, or trade frameworks. Just… vibes and a last name.
And here’s the part that should make even partisan diehards pause: it’s apparently fine.
Republican members of Congress shrug. Voters nod along. Cable news panels move on after a quick segment and a commercial break for reverse mortgages.
Now flip the script.
Imagine Joe Biden announcing that Hunter Biden—yes, that Hunter Biden, the one whose foreign business dealings have been dissected down to the decimal point—would be dispatched to negotiate with a country where he previously had financial ties. You wouldn’t just hear outrage—you’d hear sirens.
There would be wall-to-wall coverage. Emergency hearings. “Constitutional crisis” would trend before lunch. Every chyron would scream conflict of interest. Lawmakers would trip over themselves racing to the nearest microphone. And they wouldn’t be entirely wrong.
Because sending anyone with financial entanglements into a negotiation on behalf of the United States raises obvious questions. Loyalty. Leverage. Transparency. The basic premise that American foreign policy shouldn’t double as a family business.
Which brings us back to the present. When you send relatives—or political insiders with thin résumés—into complex international negotiations, you’re not just skipping the line. You’re skipping the entire concept of merit-based diplomacy. Career diplomats spend decades learning the nuances of culture, history, language, and negotiation strategy. They understand that a misplaced word can derail years of progress.
But sure, let’s roll the dice with someone whose biggest prior negotiation might have been over commercial real estate or campaign optics. The uncomfortable truth here isn’t partisan—it’s structural.
If you’re okay with it when your “team” does it, you’ve quietly accepted a standard you’ll scream about when the other side tries the same thing. That’s not principle—that’s fandom.
And fandom doesn’t negotiate peace treaties. It cheers from the sidelines while amateurs take the board.
This isn’t about Donald Trump versus Joe Biden. It’s about whether the United States treats diplomacy like a profession—or a perk. Because if we’re being honest, the question isn’t whether one side would do it.
It’s whether we’d tolerate it if they did. Right now, the answer looks a lot less consistent than anyone wants to admit.
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.