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Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump, speaks at a Republican fundraiser at the Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 31, 2018.
Photo AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Donald Trump mocked a potential led by his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to get a seat in the North Carolina Senate in 2022.
The former president raised the possibility of Lara during some impromptu comments on Mar-a-Lago while speaking Friday at a fundraiser for Big Dog Ranch Rescue. Lara Trump has long been an animal rights activist.
“I wasn’t prepared for exactly that, but I was passing by, and I heard everyone screaming,” Trump said from the stands with furious applause. “I want to thank Lara, who has been so amazing, and I don’t know, she’s running for the Senate? I feel like she’s running for the Senate!”
The venue posted the video of the moment on Twitter Florida journalist TA Walker.
North Carolina Senator Richard Burr will retire in 2022. Lara, 38, a native of Tar Heel, has not officially declared herself a candidate for the post, but has not been shy about fueling speculation.
“I can think of nothing more than representing people from my home state, representing North Carolina,” he said during a podcast interview in December.
Burr was one of seven Republican senators who voted in favor of accusing Trump on charges of inciting the Jan. 6 insurgency in the capital that left at least five dead. A candidacy for Lara Trump would be early proof of the former president’s tenure in power with the Republican Party and voters across the state.
“If Lara participated in the race, I think she would have widespread, immediate statewide attention,” Michael Whatley, president of the North Carolina GOP, told the Associated Press earlier this month.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has also said Lara Trump would be a petition for the nomination if she wanted to.