'Ultimate goal': Reporter details Don Jr.'s 'ambitious plans' to remake future GOP

Donald Trump Jr. has quietly been working behind the scenes to build his own brand and credibility within the GOP — preparing for the day when his father is no longer around and he can take the reins of the MAGA movement, wrote Jason Zengerle for The New York Times.

This comes amid other reporting, including a Raw Story exclusive, that details Trump Jr.'s efforts to party-build and network for the future.

"Liberals have long loved to deride him as a sweaty failson ... For a time, even his political allies, including members of his own family, held a dim view of him," wrote Zengerle. However, that started to change in 2020, as Trump Jr. "proved himself to be both a top fund-raiser and a talented surrogate ... Since then, his political standing, in the eyes of his father and others, has only grown.

"Today, Mr. Trump Jr. has come to occupy a perch of unrivaled influence inside the MAGA movement, so much so that of all the figures who surround the former president, his eldest son may offer the best window into the future of that movement."

In some ways, Trump Jr. has stepped into the catch-all adviser role that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner once filled before he stepped back and focused on a legally controversial Saudi investment scheme.

"Rather than try to moderate his father, Mr. Trump Jr. has pushed him to be even more extreme," wrote Zengerle, for example encouraging Trump to abandon bragging about his efforts to get the COVID vaccine developed and take a fully adversarial stance against vaccination.

He also brought Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an outspoken vaccine conspiracy theorist, into Trump's orbit, and meanwhile acted as a "kingmaker," according to Republican Senate campaign chair Steve Daines, to get candidates like Bernie Moreno and Tim Sheehy nominated for key Senate races.

For now, Trump Jr. appears to have little ambition to run for office, Zengerle wrote — but that may not last forever. "The person close to Mr. Trump Jr. told me that his ultimate goal is to transform the Republican Party into an America First party, without ever having to run for office himself. But there may come a point where staying on the sidelines is no longer possible."

He added, "While the 78-year-old Mr. Trump is running what, win or lose, seems likely to be his final campaign, the 46-year-old Mr. Trump Jr. has ambitious plans that extend well beyond 2024, and well beyond his father."