Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was effectively called out earlier this week by comedian Hasan Minhaj while he was giving a speech at the TIME 100 Gala — Minhaj used the opportunity to point out Kushner’s relationship with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and implore the senior advisor to actually use it for some good for once.
“I know there’s a lot of very powerful people here, and it would be crazy if there was a high ranking official in the White House that could WhatsApp MBS and say, ‘Hey maybe you could help that person get out of prison because they don’t deserve it.’ But hey, that person would have to be in the room. It’s just a good comedy premise,” Minhaj said to the crowd, according to Time Magazine.
Minhaj was referring to Loujain Al-Hathloul, “a Saudi activist who helped fight to lift the women’s driving ban, and she is currently in prison. She cannot be with us here tonight. She has been tortured,” as the comedian accurately described her.
Minhaj was sure to clarify to Time Magazine after his interview that, regardless of his comedic delivery, he was serious in his call to action on Kushner.
Minhaj told Time Magazine, “I was just hoping he could send a WhatsApp message. [It could say] hey, this person has been fighting for civil liberties for all people. Maybe you should let them out of prison.”
This is far from the first time Kushner’s freakishly close relationship to the Saudi crown prince has been under pretty intense scrutiny. The Trump administration has doubled down on their attempts to downplay the connection between the two, but multiples reports continue to reveal that they still continue to interact “informally” despite the fact that Mohammed bin Salman played a large role in ordering the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
To add even more credibility to Minhaj’s statement, Kushner responded to the comedians call to action in an interview with the New York Post, basically confirming his guilt saying, “I will continue to put pressure on privately” — establishing the fact that he’s still largely in communication with the crown prince.
Featured image via DC Tribune galleryÂ
