Geraldo Rivera, the longtime media personality who has been friends with President Donald Trump since the 1970s, publicly clashed with former New York City councilor Joe Borelli during a Saturday appearance on CNN. The two were discussing allegations of "potential conflicts of interest" surrounding Jared Kushner's business dealings with Israel when Rivera accused the MAGA loyalist of being "naive" about what he characterized as obvious corruption.

According to Mediaite, Borelli "battled the entire panel" on the network's Table for Five segment as he defended Kushner and criticized CNN's reporting on the businessman's connection to a firm that supplies arms to the Israeli military. Kushner himself lashed out at the report this week, calling it "misleading."

The reported "potential conflict of interest" stems from Kushner's Affinity Partners, which holds a large stake in Phoenix Financial, a Tel Aviv-based firm that has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into an Israeli arms manufacturer. The firm also holds investments in other companies that provide equipment to the Israeli military. The arrangement sits at the heart of the dispute: a serving envoy whose personal fund holds stakes in companies tied to the military of a country central to the peace deals he is negotiating — precisely the overlap that fuels conflict-of-interest concerns in Washington.

CNN anchor Abby Phillip and other panelists argued that Kushner's business dealings are concerning given his role as an envoy for the White House, where he has negotiated peace deals in places such as Gaza. The report notes there is no evidence that Kushner's actions led to further profits for Phoenix Financial, but the company has seen its value skyrocket while Kushner has praised the investment. That distinction — no proven link between Kushner's actions and the company's gains, but sharply rising asset value alongside his diplomacy — is the gray area the panel pressed throughout the segment.

Borelli was Kushner's sole defender on the panel, Mediaite wrote. "Jared Kushner owns an investment company. The investment company owns a percentage of an Israeli investment company, which owns $250 billion of assets, including thousands of companies that they own shares in," Borelli asserted.

Rivera retorted: "How naive of you, man!" He pressed further: "You're saying that they have no interest, that there's no connection?"

Mediaite reported that "the debate then fell into loud crosstalk as Borelli exclaimed that the company's trading is all public record and that defense investments is just a 'small part' of their portfolio." Rivera pushed back, arguing that concern is warranted over Kushner's wealth growing from these business ties while he continues to serve as a key negotiator.

Rivera's decades-long friendship with Trump included an appearance on his show Celebrity Apprentice in 2015, but the media figure has increasingly distanced himself from the president over Trump's 2020 election denial claims and other issues. In Rivera's estimation, there is a direct link between the corruption allegations involving Kushner and the president's declining poll numbers.

"Is their wealth affected by their public actions?" Rivera said on CNN. "In other words, do the things they do as the designated, you know, ambassador… whatever you call them, do the things they do affect their personal wealth, yes or no? The answer is, of course it affects their personal wealth and to be childish about it and to be so defensive about it is an indication that this is why the president is losing popularity."

For now, the episode remains a contest of framings rather than a settled finding: the report flags the optics while conceding no evidence of profiteering, Kushner dismisses the story as "misleading," and Rivera links the entire matter to Trump's declining poll numbers.

This article is based on reporting by Alternet and Mediaite.