President Donald Trump's children are banking on a re-election win to position themselves as future power brokers.
An election loss would tarnish the family's "winning" brand, possibly expose them to prosecution and forever exile them from polite society in New York, while a win would solidify their standing among American elites and set the children up for political runs of their own, reported Politico.
“It will be a rush to cement their future and be back at the center of power,” said author Kate Andersen Brower, who's written four books on presidents and their families. “Once you get a taste of it, it’s hard to leave.”
If Trump wins, his children will continue building their connections to global leaders in the political and business worlds, while a defeat would put the family's fate in the hands of the Republican Party and its voters.
“The big question, which they do not have control of is: Does the Republican Party pretend Trump never happened, or is everyone still afraid of his hold on the electorate?” said one former senior administration official. “Or is he still the de facto head of the party? If he is still the de facto head, they are fine on a variety of levels.”
Donald Trump Jr. has gained immense popularity with the MAGA base of the Republican Party, and that influence is unlikely to wane even with an election loss.
“Don Jr. is the id of the conservative movement and that’s why they love him,” said a person close to the president's eldest son. “It’s highly unlikely you’ll see him running in 2024 for anything, but these days in a lot of ways you can have a lot more influence from the outside. Who do you think is more influential, Tucker Carlson or Lindsey Graham? I think the answer is pretty obvious.”
Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have used their time in the White House establishing relationships with global elites, although their government tenure has cost many of their former friends back in Manhattan.
“A big part of their time in the White House was connecting with Fortune 100 CEOs, but especially in areas where they were interested in or had future business,” said another former senior administration official. “They would host dinner parties at their home in D.C. or get together with folks like [Apple CEO] Tim Cook for dinner at Bedminster or Mar-a-Lago. More so than most in the administration, they sought to capitalize on the social aspect of things. Most of the rest of the senior staff had overwhelming responsibilities, which meant they had to be working most of the time.”
Another administration official predicted the couple would try to cash in on the president's popularity in Israel and Saudi Arabia, but they're worried about their standing after an election loss.
“'Will things go back to normal?’” they have asked, according to the administration official. “'Will I go to the Hamptons, or Silicon Valley, or you name it?'”
"My sense is that it’s going to be very difficult to go back to that life domestically," the official added, "but there will be extraordinary new opportunities in the international space.”
