Eric Trump has claimed that his father’s time in the White House has cost the Trump family billions, even as he dropped a significant hint about his own political ambitions.
Now in his second term as president, Donald Trump has cultivated a powerful personal brand and a fiercely loyal following that has remained steadfast through numerous controversies.
Despite dabbling in politics over the years, Trump had primarily focused on leading the family business, the Trump Organization—established in 1927—until he launched his presidential campaign in 2015, marking a dramatic shift in the family’s trajectory.
Eric Trump, the second son of Donald and his late ex-wife Ivana, recently spoke to the Financial Times about whether he would consider running for president once his father steps down.
The 41-year-old responded with caution, saying, “The real question is: do you want to drag your family into it? Would I want my kids to go through what I’ve been through over the past decade? If the answer was yes, I think I could do it—and to be honest, I think others in the family could, too.”
When asked more directly whether the Trump name would disappear from presidential ballots after 2024, Eric responded vaguely: “I don’t know… Time will tell. But there’s more than just me.”
He added that it’s a deeply personal decision, noting, “You have to ask whether you’re willing to subject your loved ones to the harshness of this system. And I don’t yet know how to answer that.”
Over the past ten years, Donald Trump has arguably become one of the most recognized people on the planet.
But that global notoriety hasn’t necessarily translated into widespread popularity, and the public scrutiny has had clear ripple effects on his children.
For Eric, those effects weigh heavily when thinking about the future for his own family, including his wife Lara and their two children.
“If there’s one family that hasn’t made money from politics, it’s ours,” Eric said, firmly rejecting the widespread belief that the Trump family has financially benefited from Donald’s presidency.
“Honestly, I think we would have had far more zeros attached to our name if my father had never gone into politics. The opportunity costs, legal expenses, and emotional toll it’s taken on us have been staggering.”
