Trump’s family ties tighten in march towards November selection

Melania and Ivanka Trump steered clear of the former president’s trial, but they may yet join his presidential campaign.

Donald Trump Jr, his sister Tiffany and brother Eric, and Eric’s wife Lara at the Manhattan Criminal Court last week. Picture: AFP

If Donald Trump cut a lonely figure during his hush money trial, he appeared again in a warm ­embrace after the jury returned its verdict last week. With four words from his daughter Ivanka, Trump was brought back into the family fold.

“I love you Dad,” the 42-year-old posted on Instagram, alongside a photograph of her as a toddler with her father.

Trump has always blurred his personal and professional life. Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, served as his aides during his term in the White House. His sons Donald Jr and Eric are on the board of the Trump Organisation.

It made the lack of support during Trump’s weeks-long trial in New York all the more conspicuous. Those closest to him – Ivanka and his wife, Melania – opted to steer clear of the courthouse, shielding themselves from the made-for-tabloid saga.

Donald Jr, Eric and Tiffany ­attended only for the closing statements.

“That kind of thing would bother him,” said Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who was White House press secretary from 2019 to 2021 and was at one point Melania’s assistant. “If Mrs Trump wasn’t at some event and it was ­really noted, he (Trump) would definitely bring it up with her.”

Winston Wolkoff predicted, however, that with an election coming up, Melania would shake it off: “A little courtroom drama won’t make her regret a thing. As soon as this criminal case is over, she will be happy, relieved, back home, with (son) Barron, in her bathrobe, with a smile on her face.”

Donald Trump with his wife Melania and son Barron at the funeral for Mrs Trump’s mother, Amalija Knavs, in Florida in January 18. Picture: AFP

Melania on Friday was already back at Trump Tower where the former president delivered a post-verdict press conference railing against America’s “fascist state”.

Ivanka and Tiffany, Trump’s youngest daughter, were also there, and Eric and his wife, Lara Trump, the co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, had flown in, too. Lara shared a video on social media of their two children hugging Trump and giving him handmade drawings.

The message was clear: with the trial out of the way and ­November approaching, the family was uniting behind the presumptive Republican nominee.

Trump conceded his family was finding it hard to process the news of his conviction. “I think in many ways it’s tougher on them than it is on me,” he told Fox News. “They’re good people, all of them. I have a wonderful wife who has to listen to this stuff all the time. They do that for this reason.

“She is fine, but I think it’s very hard for her … you know she has to read all this crap.”

Trump will be sentenced on July 11, four days before the ­Republican national convention in Milwaukee, where he will formally accept the Republican presidential nomination. It is unclear if Melania will attend the convention or give a speech as she did in 2016 and 2020. Barron, who turned 18 during the trial, was originally selected as a delegate but Melania later announced he would not be serving as one ­because of “prior commitments”.

Ivanka, a former fashion brand executive, has kept a relatively low profile since her father was voted out of the White House in 2020. She moved with Jared and their three children from Washington to Florida, saying she “did not plan to be involved in politics”.

Donald Trump with his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner at a UFC event in Miami in March. Picture: AFP

It is thought any support she offers her father will be in a ­behind-the-scenes capacity. One source told CNN that she had concerns about her children’s awareness of the intense limelight cast by their famous grandfather.

“When (Ivanka) was at the White House, her kids were still at the age where they might not know exactly what was going on,” the source said. “Her kids are older now and that’s no longer the case.”

Trump’s elder sons, along with their wives, are likely to be the driving force behind the campaign.

After the hush money trial verdict Eric posted: “May 30, 2024 might be remembered as the day Donald J. Trump won the 2024 presidential ­election.”

Donald Jr wrote: “The Democrats have succeeded in their years-long attempt to turn America into a third-world craphole. Nov 5 is our last chance to save it.”

Lara, 41, who has become the unlikely family spokeswoman, said her “No. 1 goal” was making sure that Trump was the 47th president.

She became co-chairwoman of the ­Republican National Committee in March, the culmination of ­efforts by Trump and his allies to shake up the party’s governing body. She has spearheaded a steep rise in fundraising – a needed boost to Trump’s political fundraising, which has dedicated tens of millions of dollars in legal fees to defend him in criminal and civil cases.

“I can tell you one thing, it will deter Donald Trump zero per cent,” Lara said. “He will continue on. I believe you’ll see his poll numbers rise. The real people of this country are supporting Donald Trump for the very reason that they understood what is at stake.”

The Times