Donald Trump Jr. is taking on a new role as top adviser within the Trump family

Behind the scenes, Trump’s eldest son has emerged as one of the former president’s top political advisers, according to several sources close to Trump or involved in his political operation. Like his brother-in-law Jared Kushner, who has spent much of the past four years trying to direct the Trump show from the Western wing, Trump Jr. he has been working closely with his father’s team to ensure the next iteration of the 45th political career runs smoothly and that his father endorses conservative candidates reliably.

But its role extends far beyond operational guidance. During the months since Trump left Washington, Trump Jr., who never worked in the White House and is arguably the most conservative member of the Trump family, has constantly influenced his father’s political instincts. Aides describe his relationship as remarkably more affable than the one Trump ever had with Kushner, who has taken a break from politics.

The impact of Trump Jr. was fully exposed earlier this month, when Trump was caught smoking in a televised interview with Gov. Asa Hutchinson on the Arkansas Republican’s stance on transgender issues, which he would not have escaped from the attention. Unlike the days when Trump was camping in an annex of the Oval Office, attending to assistants about the critical cable coverage he had seen of himself or his administration, this time he was outraged by Hutchinson’s veto of a Republican bill blocking gender. asserting treatments for transgender youth in their state.

To outside observers, it seemed strange that Trump, who largely avoided LGBTQ issues during his presidency beyond banning transgender Americans from serving in the U.S. military, issued a statement that skewed one of the most conservatives of the nation for a veto related to transgender youth. But within the orbit of the former president, it was very clear who had influenced him.

For years, Trump Jr. had made basic statements about various expansions of transgender rights to his right-wing followers on Twitter and Instagram. When Cece Telfer, a transgender woman, qualified for the 2019 NCAA Division II Women’s Athletics Championships, Trump Jr. claimed her success was a “grave injustice for so many young women” in a tweet. On January 6, he once again faced transgender athletes during a brief appearance at his father’s “Stop the Steal” rally from the White House Ellipse.

“Don has the pulse of the grassroots and knows where the party’s energy is, so he’s kind of interested in a lot of political stuff now,” a Trump aide said.

A leading role

Trump Jr.’s growing influence was first visible to his father’s aides in February, when Trump delivered his first major speech since leaving office at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando. There, the 45th president gave a long reflection on transgender athletes competing in interscholastic supports, an issue he had previously ignored as it unfolded in state legislatures across the country and how his own administration threatened to fund the federal funding for schools implementing trans-inclusive sports policies. Aides later said it was Trump Jr. who had encouraged his father to study the matter at the CPAC, knowing it would be red meat for an overwhelmingly conservative crowd.

“I was always fighting for the cause, but now Don is taking more of a leading role in shaping Trump’s post-presidential political leadership,” said a person close to Trump Jr.

When former Ohio Republican Party president Jane Timken sought Trump’s support for his nascent Senate campaign in March, for example, Trump Jr. he warned his father to “slow things down” and let the main contest play, he recalled several people familiar with the episode.

“It recognizes candidates who are genuinely investing in the America First agenda and can spot those who simulate it. While it’s true that all roads lead to Mar-a-Lago, smart candidates know there’s a stop to boxes with Don that guarantees a higher degree of success, “said former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

Trump, the youngest, has also advised his father on the messaging, as Trump navigates with bitter factions within the Republican Party on issues such as voting rights, the so-called “cancellation culture” and accountability. corporate. And while the party faces big philosophical questions about its future, people close to Trump Jr. they said he had urged his father to remain in the trenches on cultural issues, especially, arguing that they are more likely to encourage MAGA grassroots groups and voters before and beyond the 2022 midterm elections.

Trump family member “talks to majority”

That Trump Jr. has evolved from a campaign substitute who never worked in the White House to one of his father’s most trusted political strategists it’s no coincidence.

Unlike his time in Washington, Trump no longer has a revolving cast of campaign strategists and Western wing advisers surrounding him on a daily basis or the heavy operational demands that executive office requires. As a result, he has increasingly turned to old friends and his strongest political allies, from former White House aides Mark Meadows and Kellyanne Conway to his eldest son and Ohio representative Jim Jordan, to get guidance on building your political machine. and keeping his perch at the top of the GOP.

“A lot of what you’re seeing outside of Trump’s operation today comes from the top,” said a second person close to Trump Jr., who noted that Trump sometimes calls 15 people in one day to ask for their thoughts on possible supports and the growing number of 2024 presidential hopefuls who are likely to throw their hats in the ring if Trump gives up another career.

“It often calls you to be more of an intestinal control than a GPS,” said one person the former president talks to regularly. Trump Jr., this person added, is “definitely the family member [Trump] talk to the majority “right now.

Kushner’s apparent absence has also been a factor behind Trump Jr.’s rise. Although Trump’s son has been getting closer to the former president since he left office, even with a recent purchase of a home in Jupiter, Florida, just 35 minutes from the luxurious first-class resort his father’s sea line, Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump have kept their distance from his post-presidential apparatus and showed little interest in re-engaging soon. Kushner is said to be busy with a book about his time in Washington and his efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East, according to reports.

In addition, three people familiar with Trump’s thinking said he was still preparing for his defeat in the 2020 election, so it’s largely the fault of Kusher, who served as de facto campaign manager. during the search for Trump’s re-election.

“I don’t think the president is looking for advice from Jared these days,” a person close to Trump said.

Several Trump aides warned against the idea that Trump Jr. has replaced Kushner in Trump’s orbit, and noted that both men have held different roles since Trump entered the political scene. Kushner, who is less ideological than his brother-in-law, made mostly operational contributions in his role as a senior White House adviser and campaign strategist. Meanwhile, Trump’s eldest son spent much of 2016 and 2020 crossing the country to promote his father at campaign rallies, often mimicking Trump’s warlike style and rhetorical tricks, before plunging into towards his father’s political operation after the White House.

Among some Trump aides, the younger Trump has also been present as a possible successor to the throne in case his father refuses to run for a second non-consecutive term in 2024.

Despite his deep involvement in Trump’s post-presidential machine, as well as his keen understanding of the Republican Party base, the aides who have worked closely with former President and Trump Jr. they insist there are notable differences between the father-son duo.

For one thing, while Trump has spent most of his post-presidency decompressing himself on the green with almost daily appearances at his eponymous golf club in West Palm Beach, his son recently escaped on a desert hunting trip. of Alaska. A person familiar with the whereabouts of Trump Jr. he described the tour as his own brief recourse to politics.