The Truth About Donald Trump And Donald Trump Jr.'s Relationship
Donald Trump's three oldest children were dragged into the courtroom to testify during their father's civil fraud trial. Out of them all, Donald Trump Jr. has been the most ferocious supporter. Given Donald's questionable connection with his firstborn, he has a lot to thank him for, but let's face it, that will likely never happen.
Donald's relationship with all of his kids has never been equal. The former president's favorite is likely Ivanka Trump, and he's persistently boasted about her abilities and physical attributes. Meanwhile, Donald Jr. has always seemed like an outlier regarding his father's affections, despite consistently having his dad's back, no matter what. According to the BBC, Donald Jr. has been charming the courtroom during his testimony. He admitted to being the only Trump who doesn't golf, "which has relegated me to the children's table in perpetuity." He also boasted that his father was a "genius" and "an artist with real estate."
Donald Jr. doesn't limit his father fangirling to the courtroom. He's a prolific poster on X, formerly Twitter, venting his anger at his dad's opponents. "Enough! Radical Democrats are trying to REMOVE my father, President Trump, from the ballot. This is an attack on the rights of every American to vote for their candidate," Donald Jr. ranted on November 22. "Sign the petition to keep Donald Trump on the ballot and fight back NOW!!!" Donald Jr. is his dad's biggest cheerleader. But what's Donald's relationship with Donald Jr. actually like?
Proving his worth
Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr.'s relationship has always been rocky. In her book "Raising Trump," Donald Jr.'s mom, Ivana Trump, claims Donald was totally against giving his firstborn his moniker. "You can't do that!" he allegedly insisted. "What if he's a loser?" Clearly, Ivana won the fight and got her way. Still, when it came to Donald's fear of his oldest son being a loser, Donald Jr.'s been trying to prove his dad wrong since he was a kid.
Donald Jr. followed the family tradition to please his dad, along with his sisters, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump. They used a mix of good old-fashioned nepotism and a sizeable chunk of cold hard cash to attend the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The Daily Pennsylvanian claims Trump Foundation tax records show that Donald could have splashed out up to $1.4 million to the University. Still, Donald Jr. had big shoes to fill. The Washington Post notes that Donald boasted that his Wharton degree was "super genius stuff."
However, Donald Jr. favored the bros over books ethos throughout college. And his hard-partying frat frolics didn't go down well with his "super genius" father. A former Wharton pal posted on Facebook that Donald wasn't a fan of his son, and the feeling was reciprocal. Scott Melker claimed that the former president once punched Donald Jr. so hard for wearing a Yankees shirt that he knocked him out in front of his classmates.
Desperately seeking approval
Donald Trump Jr. didn't graduate from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a "super genius" degree. Still, considering his penchant for partying, he didn't do too badly. According to Ballotpedia, Donald Jr. graduated with an economics degree in 2000. A year later, he joined the family business. However, Donald Jr.'s relationship with his dad didn't improve that much until Donald Trump realized he could use his son's gun-toting bloodlust to his advantage. A former Trump aide told The Atlantic that Donald was disgusted by Donald Jr.'s love of big game hunting until he decided to run for president and needed NRA member votes. "You can finally do something for me," they claimed Donald told his son.
But the tables were turned again after Donald Jr.'s now infamous Trump Tower Russian meeting. NPR reports that Donald was forced to admit—twice—that his firstborn met with a Russian lawyer in a bid to dig up dirt on Hillary Clinton. Although Donald insisted it was all above board and he was totally clueless about the summit. "He was resigned to his son's idiocy," a White House insider told The Atlantic, adding that Donald remarked, "He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer."
Insider notes that the documentary "Unprecedented" delves into Donald's fathering abilities. The three-part docu-series paints him as an emotionally detached dad who was absent throughout much of his kids' early childhood. However, he "pitted his children against each other" when he was around.