Donald Trump’s family name carries cache for better or worse. And this week one of his children hinted at extending the Trump dynasty into the 2028 presidential race. The suggestion quickly drew ridicule online, with critics mocking the idea as laughable and out of touch.
The child in question was Eric Trump. The executive vice president of the Trump Organization and CEO of World Liberty Financial floated the notion of a Trump “dynasty” in an interview over the weekend, according to Newsweek.
Trump spoke with Nikkei Asia on Sunday during an overseas trip to Asia, promoting the Trump Organization’s cryptocurrency businesses. These businesses have reportedly added billions of dollars in dark money to the Trump family’s coffers, including contributions from individuals seeking to influence Donald Trump.
During the interview, the 41-year-old real estate executive floated the idea of replacing his dad with his own presidential run in three years, that is if Donald Trump doesn’t flout the Constitution’s rule against allowing more than two terms as president, as he has hinted he might.
“I’m not ruling it out. I’m not saying no, but I’m also not saying yes,” Trump said.
Eric Trump also spoke at the Bitcoin Asia conference over the weekend.
Of course, the internet had an opinion, and it centered around Eric Trump’s mental acuity, which has been the butt of jokes on “Saturday Night Live” for years.
“He really is the d u m b e s t of the 5 isn’t he? Someone should do bullet questioning and see if they can trick him into telling us if daddy is incapacitated,” this Threads user hilariously posted.
“Isn’t he the dumbest ones of the kids?” Op Thorton added on Threads.
Another Threads user also questioned Eric Trump’s smarts. “They picked the slow one??? You gotta be kidding me.”
Trump’s two older sons, Eric and Don Jr., have a growing presence in political and economic circles, leading some to speculate about their future political aspirations.
And back in July, during an interview with the BBC, Eric Trump said members of his family “could … certainly” run for president one day when he was asked about the family’s future political aspirations.
But he denied that he had any intention of running in 2028. “I very much doubt I would even consider in ’28,” he said, calling politics “brutal” and explaining he was focused on his business interests.
In another interview in July, this time with the Financial Times, Trump boasted that he could be a better lawmaker than most on Capitol Hill. He also bragged about his business acumen and said he was “wholly unimpressed by half the politicians I see … I could do it effectively.”
The path “would be an easy one,” Trump said before adding, “The real question is: ‘Do you want to drag other members of your family into it?’”
“Would I want my kids to live the same experience over the last decade that I’ve lived?” he asked.
“You know, if the answer was yes, I think the political path would be an easy one, meaning, I think I could do it,” he added. “And by the way, I think other members of our family could do it too.”
