In the late afternoon sun, Eric Trump shook his fist and led chants of “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Donald Trump’s second son told a fervent crowd: “They tried to smear us, they tried to put us out of business, they came after us, they impeached him twice… and then, guys, they tried to kill him.”
A who’s who of the Maga movement had gathered for a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, less than three months after the Republican presidential candidate survived an assassination attempt there. Trump was joined on stage by running mate JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk. But if he wanted moral support from his family, he would have to settle for Eric. His other children – and his wife – were conspicuously absent.
The no-shows at Trump’s recent major event were indicative of a divided family that maintained a lower profile than in previous election cycles. When he took the political establishment by storm in 2016, the Trump family business became part of his brand. This time, he appears more isolated during campaign stops where he delivers incoherent and demagogic speeches.
Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka, is sitting out the election while his youngest daughter, Tiffany, is pregnant. His youngest son, Barron, 18, has started his freshman year at New York University. Eric, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, occasionally appears on the campaign trail alongside his wife Lara, who is now co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
“I go to bed every night and wake up every morning listening to the integrity of voters,” 40-year-old Eric joked in Butler, with Lara at his side. “It’s really great. “I’m really excited for November 6, when Lara can roll over in the morning and not talk about voter integrity.”
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Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. (46), has been less prominent during the campaign than in previous election cycles. But appearances can be deceiving. Offstage, Don Jr. more influential than ever as a political agent. He has built a loyal following in the Maga universe through his Triggered podcast on Rumble and gained powerful allies like Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA.
It was Don Jr who advocated for his good friend Vance, a relatively inexperienced senator from Ohio, to become Trump’s vice presidential nominee. There is speculation in Washington that the pair have made a deal that, should Vance make his own bid for the White House, he would nominate Don Jr. as his running mate. Vance has previously said, “With the exception of his father, I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone who has a stronger natural connection to our base.”
Some suspect that Don Jr. would be the power behind the throne of a second Trump administration. Speaking on the sidelines of the Republican national convention in Milwaukee in July, he said he wants “veto power” over hiring decisions in a presidential transition. “I don’t want to elect any person to a position of power; all I want to do is block the guys, that would be a disaster,” Don Jr. said. during an Axios House event. “I want to block the liars, I want to block the guys who pretend to be with you.”
Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman and Tea Party activist turned Trump critic, said: “What I’ve heard is that Junior is hugely active behind the scenes and hugely influential behind the scenes, and that if Trump wants to win, Junior that will do. actually be the power broker. He becomes the big player in the government.”
The ascendancy of Don Jr and Eric coincides with the declining influence of Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both of whom worked in the Trump White House. This is seen as evidence that, following the victory over the Republican Party, populist extremism has gained the upper hand in Trump’s own family.
Walsh, part of a group known as Republicans for Harris who is campaigning for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, added: “Several family members are the faces this time and who are they? They are the more Maga. Junior is clearly Maga. Lara Trump is a Maga idiot and her husband Eric is the same.
“Jared Kushner and Ivanka were never like that. They’re more polite, kind of high society people, so they were never really involved in the whole Maga thing. It parallels who would work for Trump during the second administration. It would all be a lot more Maga crazy.
Despite growing up in New York, Don Jr has described himself as an outdoorsman who hunts and fishes and connects with Central America. He has also spent a decade honing a brash political persona, delivering fiery speeches, tweeting conspiracy theories and goading liberal critics – “who own the Libs” – in ways that resonated with the moment for his father.
Joshua Kendall, author of First Dads: Parenting and Politics from George Washington to Barack Obama, agrees. He said: “Trump has become much more authoritarian, so Don Jr. is much better suited to this situation than it was in 2016, when Trump was still trying to make the occasional nod that would be presidential.
“Now he really doesn’t care and that fits very well with Don Jr.’s personality, which is that he is a real troublemaker and, like his father, likes to get down and dirty with stupid speeches and saying harsh things. “
Children have long been crucial players in presidential campaigns; Jimmy Carter worked tirelessly to give him a boost in the 1976 New Hampshire primary. As the oldest major party candidate in history, Trump, 78, has turned to his grandchildren to soften his image.
Kai Trump, Don Jr.’s 17-year-old daughter and his ex-wife Vanessa, told delegates at the Republican convention: “The media makes my grandfather seem like a different person. But I know him as he is. He is very caring and loving. He really wants the best for this country. And he will fight every day to make America great again.”
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But although Trump’s wife, Melania, also attended the convention, she broke tradition by not giving a speech. The former first lady has kept a low profile except to promote her own memoir, in which she expressed support for abortion rights, potentially creating a political headache for her husband.
It’s a stark contrast to previous elections, where husbands like Laura Bush and Michelle Obama have been critical allies, and to Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, who is unfailingly loyal and fiercely active on the campaign trail.
Kendall added: “Melania does as little as she needs to. She came out as an abortion proponent in that book, so she can’t be counted on to go all Maga. The appeal of Don Jr and Eric is that Trump can count on them. They are the two family members most connected to him and most willing to do his dirty work.
“Melania has also drawn a line in the sand. She did not want to speak at the convention, which is not common these days and she is not supposed to go out. Compare how much Emhoff does with how little she does.”
Some commentators believe there is another, pragmatic reason why Trump’s wife and daughter are holding back this time. Rick Wilson, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, a pro-democratic and anti-Trump group, wrote on X: “You know Trump is losing because Jared, Ivanka and Melania are nowhere to be seen. If he was really in the lead, they would be running around the Campaign like jackals on a two-day-old gazelle.”