Many people take comfort in the idea that someday the Trump era in American politics will come to an end, whether due to term limits or the inevitability of death. But I regret to inform you that regardless of how Donald Trump’s political career concludes, the risk that we’ll be dealing with a Trump dynasty for the rest of our lives just increased significantly.
In an interview with Financial Times published Friday, Eric Trump opened the door to launching a political career of his own.
“The real question is: ‘Do you want to drag other members of your family into it?’” the president’s son said. “Would I want my kids to live the same experience over the last decade that I’ve lived? You know, if the answer was yes, I think the political path would be an easy one, meaning, I think I could do it.”
Previously, it seemed that only Don Jr. or perhaps Eric’s wife, Lara, were seriously considering following Donald into national politics. Don Jr. has been heavily involved in his father’s political operation. Lara expressed interest in being appointed a U.S. senator, but she ultimately turned down the job (which she hadn’t been offered) to be a Fox News host. After serving as White House adviser in her father’s first term, Ivanka has repeatedly sworn off politics. Barron is too young to enter politics anytime soon, and Tiffany has barely participated in her father’s campaigns.
Eric always seemed focused on running the family business, so it’s notable that the Trump Organization’s co-executive vice-president is now openly toying with entering politics.
On the other hand, Eric also declared, “If there’s one family that hasn’t profited off politics, it’s the Trump family.” He argued that when you consider legal fees and “opportunity cost,” the Trump family would have “had many more zeros behind our name had my father not run in the first place.” That’s a highly dubious claim, as prior to 2015 there wasn’t a massive market for Trump sneakers, Trump NFT trading cards, and Trump crypto ventures, to list just a few of the many ways the family has profited from the presidency.
So, perhaps Eric isn’t actually considering a political career — he was just saying things that sound cool but have no basis in fact.
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