Jared Kushner Speaks in Public
Jared Kushner, son-in-law to Donald Trump, director of the Office of American Innovation and special advisor to the president, made a rare public statement when he spoke to technology executives at the White House on Monday.
"We have challenged ourselves to pursue change that will provide utility to Americans far beyond our tenure here," Kushner said in his first public remarks since Donald Trump's election, which he delivered at the inaugural American Technology Council meeting on Monday. "Together, we have set ambitious goals and empowered interagency teams to tackle our objectives. It's working and it's very exciting."
He speaks! Have you ever heard Jared Kushner's voice before? Here you go. pic.twitter.com/QKElf1bynn
- Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) June 19, 2017
By Monday afternoon, "Jared Kushner" was trending on Twitter (which could also have something to do with the news that he is reportedly looking for a criminal lawyer to represent him in the Russia probe).
In fact, Kushner has spoken so rarely that Saturday Night Live parodied his reserved nature in a sketch back in April. Jimmy Fallon, the host of the episode, portrayed the special advisor to the president for a whole sketch without saying a single line.
As Town & Country reported in early May, it turns out that Kushner has, in fact, spoken at religious and real-estate events. Here's a clip of him at the Chabad House at Harvard in 2003, the year he graduated from the college.
As a student, he had served as chair of the Celebration Committee for the dedication of the new Chabad center. In his address Kushner appears nervous and mainly keeps his gaze focused on notes on a podium. You can hear a hint or two of his New Jersey accent. Eleven years later, that accent was less pronounced when Kushner delivered the keynote address at a real estate summit in Brooklyn.
While his eyes are focused on the audience this time, he still seems nervous and unsure of how to handle the end of the speech. "Thank you all for coming today and, um, that's all I have," he says, before looking around and backing away from the podium.
So why doesn't Kushner speak more in public? Maybe it's because, unlike his bombastic father-in-law, he simply doesn't like it.
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