Lara Trump ‘absolutely’ considering North Carolina Senate run
Move over, Ivanka – there’s another blonde, glamorous Trump planning a political career, and apparently, she’s got the “natural instinct” to pull it off.
She’s been a pastry chef, a personal trainer and a TV producer – but Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of the former US president and wife of his son Eric, now has her eye on something bigger.
As rumours fly about the political futures of not only Donald Trump but his eldest daughter and “heir apparent” Ivanka, the 38-year-old has confirmed she is “absolutely” considering a run for Senate in her native North Carolina, having hitched her wagon to the Trump train in 2016.
While her father-in-law often joked to donors that he “couldn’t pick (her) out of a line-up”, Ms Trump is a “household name” in her home state, one Trump campaign adviser told The New York Times, describing the mother-of-two as “very charismatic” with “a natural instinct for politics”.
“She would be formidable,” former White House official and 2016 Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told the publication.
“She has the trifecta: She can raise money, raise awareness of key issues and raise attention to her face.
“Unlike many typical politicians, she connects with people and is a compelling messenger.”
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Who is Lara Trump?
As is the Trumpian way, Ms Trump – born Lara Yunaska – has no experience whatsoever working in government.
The former personal trainer, skilled pastry chef and producer for CBS Inside Edition married Eric Trump, Mr Trump’s third child and second son, in a 2014 ceremony at the self-described billionaire’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida in what was described a “major event”.
While some credit her with helping to secure the Republican vote in North Carolina in 2016, she was frequently overshadowed by the elder of her two sister-in-laws.
But after the now-74-year-old’s 2017 inauguration, Ms Trump took an active role in the White House, “hosting high-level meetings to push a variety of domestic policy initiatives”.
She also began hosting a weekly video series for the Trump campaign, “Real News Updates” – in one clip saying that she “bet you haven’t heard all about the accomplishments the president had this week, because there’s so much fake news out there”.
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“I never knew her to say no a single time,” Ms Conway told the Raleigh News & Observer about Ms Trump.
“‘Can you work the phones for fundraising?’, ‘Can we send you and your colleagues in Women for Trump to the four following states?’, ‘Will you sit on a bus for hours?’ Lara never said no.”
By 2020, all that behind-the-scenes work had paid off, and Ms Trump emerged as a senior adviser to Donald J Trump for President Inc, the leader’s re-election committee, where her job was to “focus on digital fundraising and merchandising efforts”.
“I never expected, when I moved nine years ago to New York City, that this would ever happen to me,” she told Port City Daily before speaking to local Republican women in her hometown.
“(Being a part of this campaign) is the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. It’s incredible.”
Lara Trump’s controversial past
In recent years, Ms Trump has lamented that sharing a name with one of the most controversial men in the world “hasn’t been easy for our family”.
But that hasn’t stopped her from taking an active role in the Trump “family business” of late – actively elevating conspiracy theories, taking part in trying to overturn last year’s presidential election results and generally promoting her husband’s father as America’s saviour.
“My father-in-law is a very loyal individual and he is very loyal to people who are loyal to him,” she told Fox News during the Trump administration.
“When he feels like somebody isn’t doing a good job, or is not being loyal, he’s going to correct that, and I think that’s what we’ve seen in the White House so far.”
Lara Trump says that Trump is working on building a new social media platform where conservatives will be free to say whatever they want and won't "feel like the fact checkers are going to be all over them." pic.twitter.com/E4qorixxrD
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) March 23, 2021
In April 2019, she called German chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to accept refugees “the downfall of Germany” and “one of the worst things to ever happen” to the country that started WWII.
She hit the campaign trail alongside “proud Islamophobe” and far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, and also tried her hand at denouncing Joe Biden as the rightful election winner.
The American voting system, she said while in Wilmington, was “ripe with fraud” and universal vote by mail “is not a good system, it’s never been tested”.
And in October last year, she accused Mr Biden of suffering from a severe “cognitive decline”, attacking the then-Democratic nominee over his speech impediment.
“I’m supposed to want him to fail at every turn, but every time he comes on stage or they turn to him, I’m like: ‘Joe, can you get it out? Let’s get the words out, Joe.’ You kinda feel bad for him. The problem is that’s their frontrunner, guys, okay?”
What about Ivanka?
Of course, Ms Trump isn’t the only member of the family mulling a run for office.
Mr Trump has vowed to run again in 2024, and Ivanka reportedly has had her mind set on the White House since 2016 and is currently working to “redeem” and “rebrand” herself in order to make a comeback.
Rumours are swirling that she plans to run for President herself in the not-too-distant future, that she could serve as Vice President under her father if he were to win in 2024, that she aims to challenge Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio in 2022 – although that path now seems to have been ruled out – or run for Florida governor.
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Donald Trump Jr, meanwhile, who has the deepest connection with his father’s base, may choose to forgo a run for office altogether, while Eric – widely considered to be the lowest profile of the Trump siblings – has never cultivated a political spotlight.
That means the 37-year-old leaves the way clear for his wife – and that we could possibly see another Trump in office in the near future.
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