Meet the Trumps – is the incoming president about to make the White House a family business?

Published

9 months ago

November 7, 2024

admin

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.

Follow latest: US election live updates

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

US

Soulja Boy arrested on suspected weapons charge during traffic stop

Published

15 hours ago

August 4, 2025

admin

Soulja Boy arrested on suspected weapons charge during traffic stop

Soulja Boy has been arrested and charged with possession of a firearm during a traffic stop.

The rapper, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was a passenger in the car that was stopped in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles early on Sunday morning, the LAPD said.

“A passenger was detained and police arrested DeAndre Cortez Way for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm,” the statement added.

Possessing a firearm as a convicted felon is a felony.

The 35-year-old was booked into jail in the LAPD’s Wilshire Division shortly after 6am. It is not clear if he has since been released.

Police did not provide information on what prompted the traffic stop and who else was in the vehicle with Way.

Soulja Boy is yet to publicly comment on the incident.

Soulja Boy is best known for his 2007 hit Crank That, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and landed him a nomination for best rap song at the Grammys.

The rapper was arrested and charged with a felony in 2014 for carrying a loaded gun during a traffic stop in LA.

In April this year, the Chicago hip-hop artist was ordered to pay more than $4m (£3m) in damages to his former assistant after being found liable for sexually assault, as well as physically and emotionally abusing them.

US

Tennessee: Man tries to detonate 14 explosive devices while being arrested

Published

2 days ago

August 3, 2025

admin

Tennessee: Man tries to detonate 14 explosive devices while being arrested

Police in Tennessee have discovered 14 improvised explosive devices in a man’s home as they were arresting him, the local sheriff’s office said.

Officers were executing a warrant in the home of Kevin Wade O’Neal in Old Fort, about 45 miles (70km) east of Chattanooga, after he had threatened to kill public officials and law enforcement personnel in Polk County.

After arresting the 54-year-old, officers noticed “something smouldering” in the bedroom where he was found.

On closer inspection, they discovered an improvised explosive device and evacuated the house until bomb squad officers arrived at the scene.

Fourteen devices were found inside the property – none of which detonated.

O’Neal was charged with 11 counts of attempted first-degree murder, corresponding to nine officers and two other people inside the property when the suspect tried to detonate the devices.

He also faces 14 counts of prohibited weapons and one count of possession of explosive components.

O’Neal is being held at the Polk County jail and his bond is yet to be determined.

US

Trump orders two nuclear subs to be moved closer to Russia

Published

2 days ago

August 2, 2025

admin

Trump orders two nuclear subs to be moved closer to Russia

Donald Trump says he has ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the “appropriate regions” in a row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

It comes after Mr Medvedev, who is now deputy chair of Russia‘s Security Council, told the US president on Thursday to remember Moscow had Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort.

On Friday, Mr Trump wrote on social media: “Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.

“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Trump-Russia live: Follow Ukraine war latest

Speaking outside the White House later in the day, Mr Trump was asked about why he had moved the submarines and replied: “We had to do that. We just have to be careful.

“A threat was made and we didn’t think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful. So I do that on the basis of safety for our people. A threat was made by a former president of Russia and we’re going to protect our people.”

The spat between Mr Trump and Mr Medvedev came after the US president warned Russia on Tuesday it had “10 days from today” to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face tariffs, along with its oil buyers.

Moscow has shown no sign that it will agree to Mr Trump’s demands.

Trump’s move appears to signal a significant deterioration in relationship with Putin

Normally it’s Moscow rattling the nuclear sabres, but this time it’s Washington in what marks a dramatic escalation in Donald Trump’s war of words with the former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

More importantly, it appears to signal a significant deterioration in his relationship with Vladimir Putin.

The US president’s patience with the Kremlin was already at its thinnest earlier this week, when he shrank his deadline for progress towards a peace deal from 50 days to 10.

But Russia’s lack of outward concern with this stricter ultimatum – which has swung from dismissive to (in Medvedev’s case) insulting – seems to have flicked a switch.

For this is the first time Trump’s pressure on Moscow has amounted to anything more than words.

We don’t know where the subs are, or how far they had to move to get closer to Russia, but it’s an act that sits several rungs higher than the usual verbal threats to impose sanctions.

How will Russia respond? I’m not sure Vladimir Putin has ever caved to an ultimatum and I doubt he’ll start now.

But I don’t think he’ll want the situation to deteriorate further. So I suspect he’ll make another offer to the US, that’s dressed up as a concession, but in reality may prove to be anything but.

It’s a tactic that’s worked before, but the stakes have suddenly got higher.

On Thursday, Mr Medvedev reminded Mr Trump that Russia possessed a Soviet-era automated nuclear retaliatory system – or “dead hand”.

Mr Medvedev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was referring to a secretive semi-automated Soviet command system designed to launch Russia’s missiles if its leadership was taken out in a decapitating strike.

He made the remarks after Mr Trump told him to “watch his words” after Mr Medvedev said the US president’s threat of hitting Russia and its oil buyers with punitive tariffs was “a game of ultimatums” and added that “each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war” between Russia and the US.

Mr Medvedev served as Russia’s president from 2008 and 2012, when Mr Putin was barred from seeking a third consecutive term, but then stepped aside to let him run again.

As deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, he has become known for his provocative and inflammatory statements since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.