Jared Kushner claims Trump border policies ‘vindicated’ by pandemic amid reports president's son-in-law removed from coronavirus operations

The adviser said it would be hard for people to 'argue against' border security after Covid-19

The president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has claimed the coronavirus pandemic “vindicated” Donald Trump‘s border policies from when he first ran for election.

The senior adviser, who is also a member of the White House coronavirus task force, told Fox News’ The Next Revolution that political opponents would have a difficult time now attacking the president’s perspective on border security.

“I think the campaign platform that President Trump ran on in 2016 – which was basically ‘you have to secure your borders and you have to control your own manufacturing as a national security issue’ - I think those have been totally vindicated positions from the virus and I doubt it will be easy for people to argue against them in the future,” Mr Kushner said.

“Build the Wall” chants often reverberate through the arenas where the president performs his campaign rallies. Supporters have often even showed up in wall-inspired suits, onesies, or other apparel to support the policies.

Mr Trump has promised supporters he will decrease illegal immigration through the strengthening of the borders, specifically the southern border.

Now his son-in-law has claimed the pandemic reaffirmed the country’s need for strong borders, but it’s worth reminding the senior adviser most of Mr Trump’s campaign promises geared around Mexico, which was not the reason the novel virus first entered the country.

Becoming a “leader in advanced manufacturing” was also a renewed call from the president, Mr Kushner said.

“We’ve lost a lot of the capability here in America to be the leader in advanced manufacturing and President Trump is very committed to making sure that over the next couple of years, America regains their ability to be the leading global advanced manufacturer,” he said “I think we will see a lot of that happening.”

Testing has been one of the areas in which the Trump administration faced a backlash. Governors accused the federal government of not prioritising tests and of leaving states to fend for themselves.

It is estimated the US could reach 5m tests by the end of the month, and Mr Trump boasted the United States has tested more than any other country.

Mr Kushner added: “We figured out how to really stimulate that supply. We believe by the month of April we will have close to five million tests that will be performed."

But health experts warned that current testing has not yet reached the level needed to safely reopen the country.

The interview withg Mr Kushner comes amid a report in the Daily Beast that said the senior adviser and his team have been largely removed from the coronavirus operation in the last two weeks.

One White House official said it was "unclear" exactly what he and his team have done lately to help the pandemic. Another individual told the publication that their team, which works with Mr Kushner's, has not received any updates in "about a week".