Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner threaten to sue over billboards

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are threatening to sue a group of anti-Trump Republicans over billboards on Times Square.

The offending billboards on Times Square on Monday. Picture: AFP

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are threatening to sue a group of anti-Trump Republicans after billboards accused them of indifference to Americans who have died of coronavirus.

The Lincoln Project, a pugnacious collective of Republicans who have turned against the party, bought two billboards in Times Square, New York.

One shows the US President’s daughter, 38, beside: “33,404+ New Yorkers. 223,381+ Americans.” The other has a picture of her husband, 39, with a quote attributed to him in a Vanity Fair article in September: “(New Yorkers) are going to suffer and that’s their problem.” Beneath the quote are images of body bags. In the context of the article, “their” appeared to refer to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and his team, rather than New Yorkers.

The Lincoln Project, which has repeatedly angered Donald Trump, is run by high-ranking Republicans such as Steve Schmidt, chief strategist for John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, and Stuart Stevens, who played the same role for Mitt Romney in 2012. They are now supporting Democrat nominee Joe Biden.

Ivanka Trump, left, Melania Trump and Tiffany Trump at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, last week. Picture: AFP

Marc Kasowitz, a lawyer who has represented Mr Trump, fired off an angry letter. “If these billboards are not immediately removed, we will sue you for what will doubtless be enormous compensatory and punitive damages,” he said.

In response the Lincoln Project wrote: “Jared and Ivanka have always been entitled, out-of-touch bullies, who have never given the slightest indication they have any regard for the American people. The billboards will stay up.”

Matthew Sanderson, their lawyer, wrote to Mr Kasowitz that “the Lincoln Project would welcome the opportunity to further establish the truthfulness of its Times Square billboards through litigation … so sue if you must”.

THE TIMES