During a recent interview, model Karlie Kloss was asked about navigating her relationship with her controversial in-laws. Her response has disappointed tons of people online. Karlie, who identifies as a Democrat, is married to billionaire venture capitalist Josh Kushner, meaning Jared Kushner is her brother-in-law.
So, when she sits down for interviews, people are often curious about what her conversations with that side of the family are like. When she described their interactions during a recent interview, a lot of critics online thought she sounded far too neutral and complicit.
Karlie suggested that her political views have not been influenced by the Kushners or the Trumps.
During a Bloomberg Originals interview, Emily Chang asked Karlie about being married to someone whose brother is married to Ivanka Trump. Karlie said, “I know who I am. I know the values that guide my life and the issues that I care about. So, you know, I haven’t lost sight of who I am, but also, it’s my husband’s family.”
In the comments on Instagram, people found this incredibly vague. They questioned what values she was even talking about, since she didn’t mention anything specific.
She didn’t really share any additional details when asked about what family dinners are like. Instead, she simply said, “We’re sitting here in St. Louis, which is a blue dot in a red state. Since as long as I can remember, I’ve always been exposed to a lot of different political points of view, and I think that trained me for my life.”
Though she didn’t elaborate on her viewpoints, she said she’s a Democrat and added, “I think it’s possible to have relationships with people who you politically don’t align with. And I think this country has always been a place for dialogue. We have to be able to talk to each other.”
People in the comments thought this response sounded super scripted and rehearsed.
They also accused Karlie of downplaying what the Trump administration is doing. Some commenters agreed that it’s possible to navigate political differences — but being friendly with the Kushners and Trumps seems like a different thing entirely.
One commenter wrote, “People need to stop downplaying the seriousness of what is happening by saying ‘oh it’s just a difference of opinion’ or ‘different political views.’ No it is NOT!!!!”
Commenters hated the way Karlie acted like it was just an ordinary Democrat vs. Republican thing. Someone else said, “I think we should be able to get along with people who have differing political views. The problem is that the Kushners and the Trumps have moral and humanity issues not political.”
And another person added, “It is not political. It is about values and common decency and valuing all humans as equals. We are talking about Trump not Mitt Romney.”
Karlie has never talked to the president about politics.
In fact, she said she’s never actually met President Donald Trump. However, given who she’s married to, some commenters seemed to think she had more of a responsibility to engage in difficult conversations with her in-laws.
“If she is not having the tough conversations with that family, she is 100% complicit in everything they do!” someone commented.
Another person wrote, “I’m sure she will be at the Albanian resort,” referring to Ivanka and Jared’s controversial project.
People also said Karlie’s responses to these questions contained “zero substance” and called her the “queen of reciting her lines” because she sounded very media-trained and polite.
Several commenters tried to translate what she was saying. “What she should just say is, ‘I don’t care. He is RICH!!!'” one of them wrote. Meanwhile, another person suggested that Karlie was basically saying, “My sister-in-law is a fascist, NBD.”
