The Surprising Place Ivanka And Jared Plan To Move Post-Election

Writer Lysandra Ohrstrom and one-time best friend to Ivanka Trump didn't mince words when she wrote her tell-all essay for Vanity Fair. One of her confessions: "In private, I've had countless conversations with friends who also grew up with Ivanka about how appalled we are that she didn't publicly oppose Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination, or any of her dad's especially repugnant policies. But in public, we've stayed silent because that's what we are taught to do ... Even now, as self-proclaimed former friends vow that Ivanka can never show her face in Manhattan again, few of these detractors are quoted by name in the many takes about her future."

But there are others who have been open about their distaste for the Trumps, like Upper East Side writer Jill Kargman who told CNN: "[The president] was so awful and divisive about New York, saying it's a nightmare or that it's empty, or a has-been. No one here is going to forget that. To even come back here after everything he's said, it's not going to work."

Several social commentators feel that Manhattan may not have a problem with Ivanka and a possible move back into the couple's four-bedroom penthouse at Trump Park Avenue (via Town & Country). However, New York society may be less kind to her husband. A former editor for the Page Six gossip column, Paula Froelich, tells Town & Country that "Socially it will be a little awkward. I think it'll be more awkward for Jared, because he was not really raised here and doesn't have the old friends that Ivanka has. He didn't engender the good will that Ivanka did."

Town & Country says it is likely that New York society won't be too keen on the fact that Jared has been linked to investigations involving his family real estate company. They have come under scrutiny for filing fraudulent claims that the firm, Kushner Companies, didn't have rent-regulated tenants when it had hundreds (via Newsweek).

Because of the perceived animosity toward Jared and Ivanka, The New York Times says it looks as though the couple could end up settling down in Bedminster, New Jersey. Expansion plans have been submitted for their cottage, which is located on the grounds of the Trump National Golf Club and where the president spends a fair amount of time. When completed, the New Jersey cottage is getting a serious upgrade and may look similar to the mansion the Kushners are leaving in Washington D.C. The newspaper says the new plans include a larger master bedroom, bath and dressing room, two new bedrooms, a study, and even a ground floor veranda. 

Aside from extensive renovations to the cottage, the Trump family also appears to have submitted plans for five additional cottages, measuring 5,000 square feet each, as well as a recreational venue that can offer spa treatments. The plans currently are said to be with Bedminster Township officials for consideration.

New Jersey may be the best option for Jared and Ivanka, at least for now. The family apparently annoyed fellow parents at the Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School of the Nation's Capital by taking up the front rows during school events (via The New York Times). During a child's birthday party, Jared reportedly rubbed hosts the wrong way by asking for their WiFi password so he could work in the living room. What's more, they were eventually forced to withdraw their children from the school after the administration asked them about exposure to COVID-19 during the Amy Coney Barrett nomination.

New Yorkers like comic author Christopher Buckley may be one of those who feel that the Kushners are better off giving the Big Apple a big pass for now. He said: "Washington tends to be more tolerant of fellow swamp creatures, who are continually in and out of favor." But you can't say the same about Manhattan, "where 'in' and 'out' lists are sacred tablets. There might be more Grubhub than La Grenouille in their dining future."

But could they eventually make a comeback? As Froelich puts it, "No one's ever going to hold up New York society as a bastion of ethics or good taste. At the end of the day you can always buy your way in, so will that change? Probably not, as long as their checks don't bounce" (via Town & Country).