Donald Trump Jr. has gained more political clout with his father, but that wasn't always the case.
The president-elect's namesake eldest son played an instrumental role in getting J.D. Vance added to the Republican presidential ticket, and Puck senior political correspondent Tara Palmeri told CNN that he will play a key role in recommending candidates to serve in his father's next administration.
"Don Jr.'s clout with his father has gone up a lot," Palmeri said. "Originally, back in 2016, Trump sort of dismissed his political acumen and didn't think much of him, but then he showed he really understood the base of the party and started to see his popularity rise and he was an effective surrogate."
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"Then he saw polling that showed Don Jr. could be the future of the party and he got a little jealous, but then Don Jr. explained to his father how this could be a franchise and we could keep it going, this brand, this MAGA brand, this Trump brand, and brought in J.D. Vance. For as much criticism as Trump got in the end, he brought him over the line with that group of voters that he was supposed to target, those young first-time, low propensity bro voters. I think this win, J.D., has given Don Jr. some more clout, and we know where Don Jr. stands, and that's ideologically to the right."
On the other hand, Trump's original White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has seen his political fortunes diminish after serving a four-month prison sentence for refusing to cooperate with the congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection.
"Steve Bannon, I don't think will have a lot of clout," Palmeri said. "I'm going to be honest with you right now, I know he speaks with Trump from time to time, but I do think that voice that says, 'The party is here, the party is here, and you need to run with the party,' has been replaced by people like J.D. and Don Jr., who aren't as far right as Steve Bannon but they aren't that far away. But Steve is lost a lot of credibility with Donald Trump."
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