President Donald Trump's two eldest children are battling for control of his dynasty, CNN reported Monday.
"There's a new report in The Atlantic, it details the battle among Donald Trump’s children to succeed him," CNN's Don Lemon noted.
The host interviewed McKay Coppins, the author of the article simply titled, "The Heir," that explains the battle between Donald Trump, Jr. and Ivanka Trump.
"And while the president writes his chapter in history, the next generation waits in the wings, jockeying for position, feuding over status, knowing only one of them can be the heir," Coppins wrote.
"So Trump saw Ivanka as the heir, but that’s not so," Lemon noted. "Especially — I think you say that Ivanka is — she may inherit the company, but Don, Jr. is a MAGA star."
Coppins explained what he learned reporting out the story.
"Trump always saw Ivanka as kind of the golden child, right? She was beautiful, telegenic. He wanted her to be the next face of the Trump empire," he said. "But what happened is on Election Day 2016, the Trump family business changed. It went from being about TV and real estate and licensing deals to being about politics. And in the political realm, Don, Jr. went out and built his own grassroots fan base. He emerged as this kind of shouty, testosterone-soaked, you know, mini-Trump out there, beating the drum, while Ivanka was in the White House and kind of very quickly figured out that she was out of her depth."
"You know, she’s not somebody who had a lot of political or policy-making experience. She doesn’t have a lot of credibility with world leaders. And so while she’s kind of been stuck in the White House in this sort of hamster wheel, Don has been out there becoming this political celebrity," he noted.
"And I do think that even today, Trump would still -- if he was being honest -- say that Ivanka was his favorite. He still prefers Ivanka, in part —- and this is important to this whole story —- because Ivanka travels in respectable circles. She’s kind of somebody who is respected by the elites that Trump has always wanted respect from," Coppins explained. "So he saw her as somebody who could rehabilitate him or bring the Trump brand and the Trump name into this kind of new era. But Don, Jr. is the more natural successor."
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