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    • Donald Trump Jr. gains influence as Ivanka fades into the background
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    Donald Trump Jr. gains influence as Ivanka fades into the background

    Vaseline Posted on

    MILWAUKEE — Even within Donald Trump’s family, there are more MAGA members and fewer MAGA members.

    The MAGA wing is on the rise as the former Republican president tries to reclaim the White House and is poised to wield the most influence in a second Trump administration. That was evident this week in Milwaukee at the Republican National Convention, as the GOP wrapped up four days of party pomp.

    Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was everywhere, while daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, controversial veterans of Trump’s last White House, made only brief appearances.

    The rise of Donald Trump Jr. as the most politically active and perhaps most influential member of the Trump family already has major implications for a potential second Trump administration after he helped solidify a kindred spirit, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, as his father’s running mate. Vance has morphed into a MAGA believer with isolationist, economically populist beliefs that Trump could help steer the nation further in that direction.

    During Trump’s tumultuous presidency, Ivanka Trump and Kushner were often portrayed as checks and balances against some of the former president’s far-right figures on issues such as immigration policy, while also being pilloried over concerns about nepotism and financial conflicts of interest.

    Donald Trump Jr. is a MAGA star who sports the same cutting style as his father and is beloved by the former president’s most ardent supporters.

    “I think Don Jr. is the one who most closely represents his father’s message in the way he would do it,” Corey Lewandowski, who briefly managed Trump’s 2016 campaign and is now helping with the current campaign, told USA TODAY as he toured the convention. “He has a huge following … and Don Jr. really loves this kind of stuff, I mean, that’s what he does.”

    The growing influence of Trump’s eldest son is another sign that a second Trump administration could be more extreme than the first, though there have already been plenty of signs that point in that direction. The former president has been by far the biggest driving force behind it, promising a series of controversial moves from mass deportations to a more politicized justice system.

    The influence of unaccountable family members, each with their own motives and conflicts, can only increase concerns about Trump’s comeback attempt.

    Trump’s family business

    Trump’s family has always been deeply involved in his businesses, and politics is now a family business.

    During Trump’s presidency, both Ivanka Trump and Kushner took official positions in the White House, but have since faded from the spotlight. They are not active in the 2024 campaign.

    That has led to speculation about which Trump family members could replace them as the top power brokers if he wins re-election, with attention focused on Donald Trump Jr., his financial wife Kimberly Guilfoyle, his brother Eric Trump and Eric’s wife Lara Trump, the co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

    Those four were the most visible members of the Trump family in Milwaukee, all of whom had prominent speaking engagements.

    Even Donald Trump Jr.’s eldest daughter gave a brief speech, but Ivanka Trump and Kushner never spoke publicly, appearing only on the final night to watch the convention from the former president’s suite and then join him onstage with a large group of family members.

    Trump’s wife Melania and youngest son Barron also did not speak, although Melania did appear in her suite and on stage after her husband’s speech on the last night of the convention.

    Barron Trump, 18, was originally announced as his father’s delegate from Florida, but that was canceled, leading to speculation that his mother had objected. He later appeared at a Trump rally in Miami ahead of the convention, his first appearance on the campaign trail, according to his father, who introduced him and said, “Welcome to the scene, Barron.”

    However, Barron Trump is attending college and is not expected to play a prominent role in the campaign.

    Melania Trump also appears to be playing no active role in the campaign. She has made few public appearances since leaving the White House, and certainly not in recent months, when her husband was on trial. That resulted in 34 convictions for falsifying business records in a case that stemmed from hush-money payments to a porn star to cover up an alleged affair.

    According to people close to the family, Melania Trump is simply a private person who is primarily focused on raising Barron.

    “I saw Melania with him at Mar-a-Lago, but Melania has been through a lot,” former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told USA TODAY, noting that she recently lost her mother and “saw the attempted assassination of her husband.”

    ‘They will all be influential’

    Some of Trump’s allies downplayed the idea that one family member is more influential than another, noting that the former president listens to a wide range of opinions.

    “I think they’re all going to be influential,” Charlie Kirk, the founder of the youth-focused Turning Point USA and an influential figure in Trump’s world, told USA TODAY on the convention floor Wednesday. “Eric’s very close. Don. Ivanka is still being heard, I’m sure.”

    Ric Grenell, Trump’s former acting director of national intelligence and another influential figure in Trump’s inner circle who is expected to serve in a second Trump administration if he wins, said Donald Trump Jr. is “a very capable and a great person, so of course you’re going to listen to him.

    “But Donald Trump listens to a lot of people,” he added.

    Trump’s eldest sons are becoming increasingly prominent

    Trump’s two eldest sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., have been prominent campaign surrogates, having been closely involved in his political activities since the 2016 campaign.

    Now, however, they stand above all other members of the Trump family as the most public figures, along with Lara Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

    Trump’s sons were a visible presence throughout the convention, starting with Monday’s call of the delegates, where they stood on the floor — along with their daughters Tiffany Trump and Lara Trump — to call Florida’s delegates for their father, giving him the number he needed to secure the nomination.

    Both appeared with their father in his suite in the evening to watch the convention with a rotating group of figures closely involved in the campaign.

    Both gave high-profile speeches at the party convention, with Eric Trump speaking briefly for his father on Thursday and Donald Trump Jr. speaking for Vance on Wednesday.

    Both attended various events prior to the evening conference programs.

    Eric Trump spoke at a breakfast for the Florida delegation, which he chaired.

    Donald Trump Jr. spoke at an event hosted by Axios, where he made it clear that he is deeply involved in the campaign’s decisions and could be a key factor in a second Trump administration.

    He spoke of aggressively pushing Vance as his father’s VP candidate, repeatedly contradicting those promoting other candidates. And he said he won’t be the one to choose who gets to serve in his father’s administration if he wins, but that he plans to act as a gatekeeper and keep out those he deems unworthy.

    “I just want to have veto power,” he said.

    Vaseline
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