For Donald Trump, his campaign to re-enter White House is something of a family affair.
Donald Jr. and Eric have been all over the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, at almost all public outings, always walking beside their father.
He relied on them for advice during his first term in office between 2017 and 2021 but they are now working to ensure party leadership is made up of only his staunchest supporters.
Most recently he solicited advice from them before choosing Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate in what can be seen as an expansion of his inner circle.
“Of course, he couldn’t choose one of his sons or daughters or daughter-in-law; that just wouldn’t work,” said Natasha Lindstaedt, a political scientist at the University of Essex interviewed by Parami News.
“So he chose someone that maybe reminds him of his son or is close to his son… J.D. Vance and Don Jr. are very close,” she said
Notably amiss from this year’s campaign trail has been former first lady Melania Trump who has been essentially invisible throughout Trump’s rallies and protracted court appearances.
Where is Melania?
Melania broke this pattern after Saturday’s attempt on her husband’s life when she issued a fiery statement against those involved in it which was quite unusual for her role as the First Lady.
However prior to that she had spoken sparingly and did not accompany her husband during court appearances where he got convicted of covering up hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels who claimed to have had sex with the real estate magnate.
“She’s an enigma:” according to Lindstaedt adding that “she didn’t play the typical role” as “a previous First Lady”
“Even though she seemed like she agreed with Trump on many issues—well not everything but much—I’d say she holds very conservative views, doesn’t seem too concerned about what people think of her and sort of does her own thing.”
Generations three
The rest of Trump’s family have given the former President a way to humanize himself after the recent convictions and other legal problems.
Patriarch are spoken about as “very caring and loving” by his 17-year-old granddaughter, Kai Trump who spoke at RNC on Wednesday.
“He is just a regular grandpa, he gives us candy and soda when our parents aren’t looking,” she said.
The teenage daughter of Donald Jr. talked about their mutual love for golf, even though she claimed that sometimes while playing with him the former leader pretended to influence her negatively
“I don’t let him get to me, but I have to remind him I’m a Trump too,” she said.
Nepotism
Similar to trailers bound to his father’s wagon, including Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka Trump along with their friends and kin became wealthy.
Lindstaedt listed two instances where spouses of Trump have ‘made it’: Eric Trump’s spouse Lara Trump who was recently named co-chairman of the Republican National Committee; also Jared Kushner, Ivana’s husband who became an advisor appointed by Donald with a mandate in Middle East peace making family efforts.
“Now all of a sudden people that lack expertise or experience or ethical training or maybe they’re not even going through proper security clearances are getting access to some of the highest positions in our government,” Lindstaedt added.
“And we see when this happens in non-democracies and the dictatorships, how it usually goes very badly.”
“Natalie Koch, a geopolitical researcher at Syracuse University who specializes on authoritarianism, says Trump’s nepotism is not a new phenomenon.”
“The Trump organization is a family business, yes but once he took office the first time and then you could really see that he brought that into the political realm and into the White House,” she told Parami News.
Roles for children
During this campaign, each of Trump’s children has been given different roles to perform.
Don Jr., 46 years old and the oldest son of Donald Trump supports his father’s far-right “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) ideas.
He described his father raising his clenched fist after last weekend’s assassination attempt while speaking at the Republican National Convention.
Ivanka was actively involved in her father’s administration earlier but has since become private person.
Eric has also reiterated President Trump’s claims that the 2020 elections were rigged; during his speech at convention he stated that Democrats were planning to steal this year election from Republicans with no evident support.
Tiffany Trump, who is Donald Trump’s fourth child aged 30 years old was also present during Republican National Convention.
His youngest son Barron was born to current wife Melania; reportedly, like his mother, he prefers being behind-the-scenes as opposed to joining Florida delegation this year.
