Why Donald Trump Jr.'s Social Media Silence Is Causing A Stir

Unlike his father, Donald Trump Jr. still has access to Twitter, and he's never been shy about using the social media platform to share his views with the world. On July 13 alone, he posted half a dozen original tweets. He complained about Twitter's description of a news story about a 10-year-old rape victim who got an abortion, railed against the U.S. government for sending financial aid to Ukraine to help the country fight Russian invaders, and called for a professor to be institutionalized for telling Senator Josh Hawley that he was being transphobic in an exchange about abortion.

So Don Jr. clearly did not quit Twitter in solidarity with his father, who could have used an assist over on his own social media app, TRUTH Social. When former Oresident Donald Trump initially launched the app, Don Jr. helped promote it by explaining how it would be different from Twitter. "We are going to cancel cancel culture, we are going to stand up and push back against the tyranny of big tech," he boasted on "Hannity." But the new app struggled to attract users, and on Twitter Don Jr. remained, taking advantage of his larger outreach and telling The Washington Post reporter David Weigel that he views himself as "an attack dog out of the echo chamber" on the platform.

However, his attacks quieted down completely on July 14.

As of this writing, Donald Trump Jr.'s most recent tweet is about politics. He shared it hours before the news broke that his mother, Ivana Trump, had died. Ivana and Donald Trump's two other children, Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump, have both paid tribute to their mother on social media. "Our mother was an incredible woman — a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend," Eric wrote on Instagram. As for Ivanka, she tweeted, "Heartbroken by the passing of my mother. Mom was brilliant, charming, passionate and wickedly funny. She lived life to the fullest — never forgoing an opportunity to laugh and dance."

Some Twitter users have called Don Jr. out for not joining his younger brother and sister in acknowledging his mother's death with a post of his own. "Your mom died yesterday and you didn't even tweet about it," one person wrote. "Hunter Biden spent more time on your mind yesterday than your dead mother." Another message read, "In case you didn't hear, your mother died. You seem to tweet about all events. You must have missed this one."

Ivana fiercely loved Don Jr., telling the New York Post (via the Daily Mail) that she fought Donald for custody of him when they divorced. She recalled telling her ex, "Keep him. I have two others to raise." However, she knew Donald wouldn't be capable of caring for Don Jr. alone for long.