Mary Trump has candidly discussed the possibility that Donald Trump’s children could enter politics if he loses the White House in the November election.
The President’s niece gave an interview to the UK’s Independent newspaper where she talked about the possibility of her cousins seeking elected office after Trump’s administration.
Mary Trump suggested that Donald Jr. and Ivanka were the most likely candidates but she said it reflected poorly on the GOP.
“The fact that the Republican Party is in such a state that either one of these people could be considered is quite astonishing,” she said.
Trump argued that the President’s eldest son is the more obvious choice for Republicans looking to maintain a Trump political dynasty.
“He’s tied into the base in a more fundamental way because he’s so abrasive and so vicious from what I can see online, he has no boundaries he won’t cross, and there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to advance Donald’s agenda,” she said.
“So I assume the same thing would be true for his own.”
“But I don’t see Ivanka having the same kind of appeal to them in brute force terms.”
However, Trump, who is a clinical psychologist, doesn’t think her cousins “would for one second think they’re fit for or worthy of these kinds of aspiration” if they had any real self-awareness.
“Whether it’s having been brainwashed into thinking that Donald is the greatest thing that ever lived and by extension as [his] children, that they also share those characteristics, or because they’re just taking advantage of his position and they know how to manipulate him, I don’t know,” she said.
Trump went on to say that the President would likely support his children’s political aspirations because they would reflect on him but Ivanka and Don Jr. would be “considered something of a joke” by voters at large.
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Darragh Roche is a journalist covering U.S. politics and media