by Angus M. Thuermer Jr. and Rebecca Huntington, WyoFile
Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha met with supporters Tuesday at a private high-dollar fundraising lunch in Jackson Hole, attracting about seven protesters.
The couple spent about three hours in the valley, Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr said. The two traveled from the Jackson Hole Airport to a private residence south of Jackson in a motorcade of about 20 vehicles.
Two of the limousines flew American and vice presidential flags. One of the protest signs objected to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids targeting immigrants.
Lynn Friess and Karen and Jay Kemmerer hosted the luncheon for the Republican National Committee, according to invitations published on social media. Those invitations offered invited couples a greeting, a meal and a photograph for a $250,000 donation. A $100,000 donation earned a meal and a picture.
“He was very forthright. He answered well.”
Lynn Friess
“I loved the format,” Friess said Tuesday evening. “They came in, sat down for lunch. He had an opening chat and said ‘ask me questions,’” she said. “It was very relaxed.”
Republican Paul Vogelheim, a former Teton County commissioner, had heard about the fundraiser and wasn’t interested. As a former Teton County GOP Chair, Vogelheim told WyoFile, that he’s long been frustrated by fundraisers that don’t benefit local candidates.
“It was always a little bit of bleeding out the money to national [groups] without really sharing that money,” Vogelheim said of the parade of high-end fundraisers that swing through Jackson Hole.
The Vances made no public appearances.
Air Force Two ,carrying Vice President JD Vance, lifts off from Jackson Hole Airport on Tuesday afternoon after Vance spent about three hours in Jackson for a fundraiser south of town. (Brad Boner/Jackson Hole News&Guide)
Event co-sponsor Friess is the wife of the late Foster Friess, a conservative investment manager and avid supporter of President Donald Trump. He ran unsuccessfully for Wyoming governor in 2018.
Jay Kemmerer is a co-investor in the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. He attracted widespread criticism and protest for another fundraiser in 2021. The Kemmerer family owned the ski area at Teton Village outright at that time.
Jay Kemmerer hosted the controversial 2021 fundraiser for the Freedom Caucus Foundation. The event featured U.S. Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
The protest of the 2021 event evolved beyond a sign-carrying crowd to include the Patagonia clothing company, which said it would no longer sell its products to the Mountain Resort. The environmentally oriented outdoor wear brand advocates strongly for progressive action to defend the planet and combat climate change.
Patagonia’s 2021 decision centered on “our really strong commitment to using both our business and our brand to advocate for our strong priorities,” the company said at the time. “When there’s a misalignment on that, then we take action,” Corley Kenna, Patagonia’s head of communications, said.
The Teton County Republican Party defended the Kemmerers during that dust-up. “There is a firm distinction between peaceful protest, and deliberate aim to hurt those with whom we disagree, physically, emotionally, and financially,” the group posted on its webpage.
Tuesday, Vogelheim had another take.
As Teton County GOP chair, Vogelheim worked to rally the local party around being fiscal conservatives, being good stewards of habitat and respecting individual choices. He doesn’t see those values reflected in the party, he said, describing himself as an Al Simpson-style Republican.
A protester greeted the vice president at the driveway to the high-dollar fundraiser in Jackson Hole on July 29, 2025. (Alicia Unger/@todotvenespanol)
“The current administration does not represent my interests and my priorities,” he said.
For host Friess, however, the event was worthwhile. “I’m glad I went,” she said. “He was very forthright. He answered well.”
The Vances left Jackson Hole in the early Tuesday afternoon, apparently headed for Big Sky, Montana, for a dinner fundraiser. Invitations offered similar $250,000 and $100,000 tickets.
The FAA issued notices restricting the airspace around the Jackson Hole Airport and a neighborhood south of Jackson from late morning to early afternoon Tuesday.
Axios reported that the two events in the West were expected to bring in more than $4 million.
This article was originally published by WyoFile and is republished here with permission. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
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