Trump once called Jared Kushner the 'smartest guy I've ever seen in my life': book

• President Trump called Jared Kushner the "smartest guy I've ever seen in my life," new book says.
• "Ivanka could have married Tom Brady," Trump said. "But he's a great kid, he's got my back."

President Donald Trump called his son-in-law and former top White House advisor Jared Kushner "the smartest guy I've ever seen in my life," according to a forthcoming book by two New York Times reporters.

Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns detailed Kushner's influential role on Trump's 2020 presidential campaign in their forthcoming book "This Will Not Pass," a copy of which Insider obtained ahead of its Tuesday release.

Trump described Kushner as "the smartest guy I've ever met" to friends over a round of golf in Virginia, the authors wrote.

"Can't throw a football ten yards, and Ivanka could have married Tom Brady," Trump said on the golf course, referring to his eldest daughter. "But he's a great kid, he's got my back."

In one summer 2020 meeting detailed in the book that highlights Kushner's unique influence, Kushner tried to mediate a disagreement between Trump and his pollster Tony Fabrizio over whether Trump should wear a mask in public and encourage Americans to mask up to fight the spread of COVID-19.

"Kushner was one of the few people in Trump's inner circle with the license to challenge the president, not that he used it often," the authors wrote.

Kushner, who had never served in government or policy roles prior to his work for Trump, oversaw a sweeping White House portfolio, including Middle East policy, policing, the US-Mexico border wall, and the opioid crisis. Since the end of his father-in-law's administration, he's founded a private equity firm backed by a $2 billion investment from a major Saudi sovereign wealth fund controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Trump has previously publicly praised Kushner, in one instance calling his son-in-law "my star" during a June 2020 White House roundtable.

In 2020, Trump replaced his former campaign manager, relative political newcomer and Kushner ally Brad Parscale, with Bill Stepien, a more experienced New Jersey-based political operative who previously worked for former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, after Trump became increasingly dissatisfied with Parscale's spending decisions.

But, the authors added, "Kushner appeared untarnished in his father-in-law's eyes, by Parscale's bumbling leadership."

In the White House, Kushner took the lead on managing the Trump administration's foreign policy in the Middle East and on domestic initiatives including criminal justice reform.

In the wake of the 2020 election, however, Kushner has stepped back from politics and reportedly distanced himself from his father-in-law after the January 6 insurrection.

Representatives for Trump did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.