Donald Trump is preparing to pick his top team after pulling off a stunning comeback to return to the White House.
If his first term as president is anything to go by, some of those jobs could go to members of his large and in most cases politically-inexperienced family.
The president-elect has five children from three marriages – with his three sons all reported to have contributed to his 2024 campaign in some way.
In June 2023, Mr Trump said he wouldn’t want his children to serve in a second administration because “it’s too painful for the family”.
However, his critics might say that it wouldn’t be the first time he has said one thing before going on to do another.
Here we take a look at the incoming president’s family and how they might feature in the Trump White House 2.0.
Donald Trump Jr
Often nicknamed Don Jr, Mr Trump’s eldest son has become much more involved in his father’s political career than he was during his time in office between 2017 and 2021.
The 46-year-old took up a role as an adviser when his father began considering a third campaign for the White House after losing to Joe Biden in 2020.
He is said to have been helping to make sure his father understands his core voters, with a Trump aide telling CNN in 2021: “Don has the pulse of the base and knows where the energy of the party is, so he’s sort of the go-to person now on a lot of political things.”
Don Jr also advocated for incoming vice president JD Vance to become Mr Trump’s running mate in the 2024 election.
Meanwhile, his podcast Triggered is said to have become influential among his father’s supporters.
It would therefore perhaps be unsurprising if Don Jr, one of the president-elect’s three children from his first marriage to Ivana Trump, lands a relatively senior role in the next White House administration.
Image: Donald Trump with his son Don Jr at an election night watch party. Pic: AP
Eric Trump
Much like his brother, Eric frequently made appearances during his father’s 2024 election campaign.
Addressing a rally in Pennsylvania in October, three months after the assassination attempt on his father, Eric shouted: “Fight! Fight! Fight! They tried to smear us, they tried to bankrupt us, they came after us, they impeached him twice … then, guys, they tried to kill him.”
While his brother focuses on understanding voters, Eric is said to be more aligned with the Republican Party machinery.
His wife Lara Trump is the co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
Eric is also executive vice president of the Trump Organization – which serves as the holding company for all of his father’s business ventures and investments.
Clearly trusted by his father, the 40-year-old, who is the president-elect’s second child from his marriage to Ivana Trump, could also secure a role in the next White House.
Image: Donald Trump with son Eric and daughter Tiffany at a campaign rally earlier this month. Pic: AP
Ivanka Trump
One of the incoming president’s two daughters, Ivanka and her partner Jared Kushner were senior advisors in the first Trump administration.
However in November 2022, Ivanka announced she would be stepping back from politics.
Her appearance alongside her father at Palm Beach as he declared victory in the election on Wednesday was her first of the campaign.
It appears unlikely Ivanka, the third child from her father’s marriage to Ivana Trump, will be returning to the White House when the president-elect takes office in January.
Barron Trump
The 6ft 7in teenager was seen towering over his father as he declared victory in the 2024 election at a speech in Florida.
Barron, 18, is the only child of the incoming president and his current wife Melania Trump.
The teenager reportedly advised his father to go on high-profile podcasts, such as The Joe Rogan Experience, during the 2024 campaign.
He is currently studying at New York University, and there have been reports he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps by going into politics.
However, it may be a bit too early for him to do so just yet.
Image: Donald Trump, centre, with son Barron, left, wife Melania, right, and incoming vice president JD Vance
Tiffany Trump
The 31-year-old, who is the only child from Mr Trump’s marriage to Marla Maples, supports her father’s politics and celebrated his win.
However, there is no suggestion Tiffany, who graduated from the Georgetown University Law Centre in 2020, will form part of his team or enter politics as a career.
Image: Tiffany Trump, dressed in white, on election night. Pic: AP
Melania Trump
The former first lady will know what to expect as she prepares for another four years in the White House.
Mary Jordan, a Washington Post journalist and author of a book about Melania, has said she was like a “deer in the headlights” during the first term but could be a greater force the second time around.
Speaking to the i news website she said: “Melania will know more this time, she will have more experience, she will be wiser.
“Last time she was in the midst of a big feud with Ivanka who took some of the positions for the first lady – it was chaos… This time she will be wiser and have better people around her, hopefully people that won’t let her wear jackets with rude things on the back.”
Image: Donald Trump and his wife Melania at an election rally in Florida. Pic: Reuters
The comment refers to a time when Melania wore a coat saying “I really don’t care, do you?” as she travelled to a migrant children’s shelter.
During Mr Trump’s first term in office, the 54-year-old compared living in the White House to being in a Venezuelan prison.
Whether she will enjoy it more this time, and play a bigger role in the Trump administration, remains to be seen.
Kai Trump
The 17-year-old, who is the daughter of Don Jr, has become a social media star thanks to her speeches in praise of her grandfather.
However, it may be a bit too early for her to join his top team in the next White House administration.
Donald Trump‘s berating of Mr Zelenskyy has led to a show of support from European leaders as they try to formulate their own way forward.
The US president attacked the Ukrainian leader again on Monday, telling reporters he should be “more appreciative”.
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Image: The tens of billion in US aid has included Patriot air defence systems. Pic: Reuters
Writing on Truth Social, Mr Trump also said Mr Zelenskyyhad made “the worst statement that could have been made” after he commented that peace was still “very, very far away”.
“America will not put up with it for much longer!” he posted.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing,” the president added.
Mr Zelenskyy then posted on X, saying Ukraine was “working together with America and our European partners and very much hope on US support on the path to peace”.
“Peace is needed as soon as possible,” he said.
‘Music to the ears of Putin’
By David Blevins, US correspondent
President Trump’s decision to pause military aid to Ukraine marks a significant shift in US foreign policy, one previously considered unthinkable.
This blow to Ukraine’s defences in the face of Russian aggression will be music to the ears of President Putin. US military aid has kept Ukraine in this David and Goliath battle for three years.
It has funded what military analysts simplify as “the big stuff” of battle – artillery, anti-tank weapons, rockets and armoured vehicles. Trump’s decision to push pause disregards efforts by Keir Starmer and other European leaders to devise a peace plan.
Those already questioning Europe’s reliance on the US for defence will conclude they have been given the answer.
But the decision sets President Trump up for a potential confrontation with Republicans, who had approved the funding, in Congress.
White House sources say he wants President Zelenskyy to go on TV and apologise for the jaw-dropping showdown last Friday. But the Ukrainian president feels he has no apology to make for expressing his doubt about Russia’s commitment to peace.
Earlier, Trump side-stepped a question about a Kremlin diplomat claiming the US administration and Moscow were now aligned on foreign policy.
This weakening of Ukraine’s defence capability moves that question front and centre as he prepares to address Congress on Tuesday.
Despite the diplomatic crisis, President Trump has said a deal is still possible.
An agreement giving the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth metals was meant to have been signed by the two presidents on Friday.
It was billed as an important step in a future peace deal – and part payback for aid already received.
However, the dramatic falling out has thrown that into jeopardy.
Mr Zelenskyy wants the metals deal to include guarantees on halting Russia should it break the terms of any peace agreement.
However, vice president JD Vance suggested on Monday that the metals pact was the best way to secure a lasting end to the war.
“If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine,” Mr Vance said.
“That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years,” he added.
European and world allies – who met the Ukrainian leader in London at the weekend – have discussed a “coalition of the willing” to deploy peacekeepers and deter further Russian aggression.
The prime minister said Britain was prepared to put “boots on the ground and planes in the air” under the plan – but it’s unclear who else might participate.
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Keir Starmer told MPs on Monday that Britain must “lead from the front” on supporting Ukraine and the “security of our continent, the security of our country”.
However, the prime minister believes any international deployment of troops must have a US “backstop” deterrent to be taken seriously by Russia.
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Donald Trump has confirmed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, taking effect at 5am UK time on Tuesday.
The US president confirmed the tariffs in a speech at the White House – and his announcement sent US stocks down sharply.
The tariffs will be felt heavily by US companies which have factories in Canada and Mexico, such as carmakers.
Mr Trump said: “They’re going to have a tariff. So what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.”
There’s “no room left” for a deal that would see the tariffs shelved if fentanyl flowing into the US is curbed by its neighbours, he added.
As of 12:01am Eastern Standard Time (5.01am GMT), Mexico and Canada face tariffs of 25%, with 10% for Canadian energy, the Trump administration confirmed.
And tariffs on Chinese imports will double, raising them from 10% to 20%.
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Canada announced it would retaliate immediately, imposing 25% tariffs on US imports worth C$30bn (£16.3bn). It added the tariffs would be extended in 21 days to cover more US goods entering the country if the US did not lift its sanctions against Canada.
China also vowed to retaliate and reiterated its stance that the Trump administration was trying to “shift the blame” and “bully” Beijing over fentanyl flows.
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2:45
What is America’s trade position?
Mr Trump’s speech stoked fears of a trade war in North America and sent financial markets reeling.
Markets the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.4% and 1.76% respectively.
The share prices for automobile companies including General Motors, which has significant truck production in Mexico, Automaker and Ford also fell.
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Consumers in the US could see price hikes within days, an expert has said.
Gustavo Flores-Macias, a public policy professor at Cornell University, New York, said “the automobile sector, in particular, is likely to see considerable negative consequences”.
This is due to supply chains that “crisscross the three countries in the manufacturing process” and ” because of the expected increase in the price of vehicles, which can dampen demand,” he added.
Donald Trump has hit out at the Ukrainian president once again, just four days after an explosive on-camera spat between the pair.
The US president posted on Truth Social saying Volodymyr Zelenskyy made “the worst statement that could have been made” when he said the end of the war with Russia is “very, very far away”.
“America will not put up with it for much longer!” Mr Trump posted.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing,” the president added.
He also appeared to attack Mr Zelenskyy and Europe after yesterday’s Ukraine summit in London at which leaders, according to Mr Trump: “stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US.”
“What are they thinking?” Mr Trump asked.
A deal to end the war was still “very, very far away”, Mr Zelenskyy said earlier, adding he expects to keep receiving US support despite the two leaders’ public spat.
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“I think our relationship (with the US) will continue because it’s more than an occasional relationship,” the Ukrainian president added.
Mr Trump said in his Truth Social post: “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?”
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