Trump son-in-law Kushner attends local Meadows fundraiser

Mark Barrett
The Citizen-Times
In this July file photo, White House senior adviser and envoy Jared Kushner, listens at right as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington. Kushner began a round of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as he resumed efforts to restart peace talks in August.

Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump, was a surprise guest at a Thursday fundraiser for the Rep. Mark Meadows campaign outside Asheville.

The event was held at the home of Mike Summey in the Erwin Hills neighborhood near Erwin High School. Summey is a local real estate investor and author on financial topics.

Kushner, married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, is a key adviser to Trump. His responsibilities include working to improve relations between Israel and Palestine.

Numerous media accounts say he was often at odds with Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser who resigned Aug. 18. Meadows, a Republican who lives in Biltmore Park, had urged Trump to keep Bannon on.

That apparently didn't matter Thursday.

"I thought it was pretty impressive that Jared thought as much of Mark Meadows" to make the visit, Summey said Friday. He said it demonstrates the ties of friendship between Meadows and the Trump family.

"No one other than me knew he was coming. This whole thing was just kind of a surprise visit," Summey said.

Meadows is apparently frequently in contact with Trump.

Meadows told The Associated Press that he and Kushner talked about family-leave policy and the opioid crisis.

"He came in his personal capacity and at his personal expense but everyone was grateful for his willingness to come to NC," Meadows said in a message to the AP.

About 100 people attended, Summey said.

Meadows is chairman of the Freedom Caucus, a group of the House's most conservative Republicans who could play a key role in determining the fate of legislation on the agenda for Congress this fall.