Donald Trump Jr. recently told The Wall Street Journal that his father, former President Donald Trump, "always jokes—or maybe doesn’t joke, I’m not 100% sure sometimes with him—'You know, you’re much better at politics than you were at real estate.'"
The former co-host of "The Apprentice," and current host of "one of the most popular" podcasts on the Rumble platform, Trump Jr. has big plans for the GOP in the case his dad reclaims the White House next month, the WSJ reported Sunday.
“I don’t want just MAGA with only Trump, and then it goes back to the old ways,” Trump Jr. told the newspaper. “We need to have a bench. And for a long time I don’t think we had any of that. And this election cycle, you’ve seen the emergence of people that can actually carry that mantle. I think that’s really important.”
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The MAGA heir is proud that he successfully managed to get Senator JD Vance (R-OH) on the 2024 GOP ticket.
“I expended about 1,000% of my political capital" in persuading his dad to pick the Ohio senator as running mate, Trump Jr. told the WSJ, "as Vance smiled bashfully beside him."
“Making the argument, getting others who believe the same thing to do that—you know, just a constant barrage. I can be pretty persistent when I need to be.”
WSJ reports:
Vance isn’t the only lawmaker he’s handpicked and promoted. Rep. Jim Banks, a wonky young Indiana congressman who grew up in a trailer park, caught Trump Jr.’s eye with a 2021 memo calling on the party to ignore the “embittered and loud minority in the GOP that finds our new coalition distasteful” and seize the opportunity to 'permanently become the Party of the Working Class.' Trump Jr. was one of Banks’s first supporters in his current run for Senate, endorsing him even before his father did, hosting multiple fundraisers and campaign events and helping clear the field of GOP competition. 'More than anybody, Don is focused on the future of the movement, building the new Republican Party, getting younger people like myself and JD elected in key places,' Banks said. “He recognizes those of us who are fighting back, changing the old-school Republican Party to the America First, pro-Trump party.'
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The WSJ also highlights Trump Jr.'s appeal with GOP donors as one of his superpowers.
“From a donor standpoint, he’s by far the No. 1 requested person,” a top Republican fundraising consultant told the newspaper. "He goes places and they sell out immediately. He’s the No. 1 surrogate and it’s not even close. It’s pretty rare that you have someone who has that kind of hybrid appeal with both donors and grassroots.”
If his father defeats Vice President Kamala Harris, "Trump Jr. will be well positioned to call in favors from the Congress he has stocked with friends and allies," such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
"I think the Republican Party has just drastically changed and there’s no going back," Vance told the WSJ. "And my job is to make sure that that change is successful and effective and can actually implement successful public policies."
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The Wall Street Journal's full report is available here (subscription required).