What Does Donald Trump Really Think About Donald Trump Jr. Having A Future In Politics?

Former President Donald Trump isn't shy about voicing his opinions, even about Donald Trump Jr. – his namesake and eldest son. "He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer," the former president allegedly said after, per GQ, the news of the 2017 Trump Tower Moscow meeting broke like a badly built can of worms. And frankly, the 45th president is not the only one who believes his son isn't necessarily the brightest one in the room.

In 2017, The Daily Beast reported that Trump's oldest son was called "Fredo" by some campaign staff, comparing Don Jr. to the disliked son of Don Vito Corleone from "The Godfather." And in 2019, Vanity Fair reported that Don Jr. was saved from being charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. As the outlet wrote, "But luckily for the president's eldest son, he ended up getting off scot-free ... because Robert Mueller concluded he was too stupid to know what he was doing." Not to be harsh, but clearly, there's a track record here.

That said, The Guardian reported that Don Jr. is "seen by many as the heir apparent to the 'Make America Great Again' (MAGA) movement." Like his father, Don Jr. loves riling people up on Twitter, getting into feuds, and generally taking after his pops in the controversy category. So what does the former president really think about Don Jr. having a future in politics?

Former President Donald Trump might believe his son is a genius, but he does think Don Jr. has a strong chance at winning a political campaign. Business Insider reported that in Washington Examiner's David Drucker's new book, "In Trump's Shadow: The Battle for 2024 and the Future of the GOP," the ex-president told Drucker, "There are certain places where he couldn't be beaten." As Drucker writes, per BI, "Don Jr. "raised money ... joined business-themed roundtables, [and] ginned up the grass roots at MAGA rallies and mini-MAGA meetups."

In April, CNN reported that Don Jr. was his father's "top adviser." A Trump aide told CNN, "Don has the pulse of the base and knows where the energy of the party is, so he's sort of the go-to person now on a lot of political things." The outlet reported that Don Jr.'s influence was clear at Trump's February speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference. The 45th president also bashed transgender athletes in the speech, per CNN, reportedly at the encouragement of his namesake. Classic father-son moment there.

A 2019 in-depth profile in The Atlantic about the Trump children reported, "Ivanka was always Trump's favorite," but "Don Jr. is emerging as his natural successor." And as a source told Drucker in his book, Don Jr., "embodied MAGA even before there was a MAGA—someone who was a bomb thrower even before it became cool."