All the Trump children's biggest controversies over the years

Donald Trump’s tenure as US president might have come to an end, but it doesn’t look like the Trump family are going to disappear from public life.

Three of Trump’s five children are already waiting in the political wings, and rumours are intensifying that all three of them might be planning their own presidential campaigns for 2024.

The Trump family siblings are unlikely to disappear from the limelight for too long following their father's defeat in the 2020 election. Photo: Getty Images
The Trump family siblings are unlikely to disappear from the limelight for too long following their father's defeat in the 2020 election. Photo: Getty Images

Whether we’ll see a second President Trump remains to be seen, but whatever happens, it’s looking likely Donald’s offspring will be in the news for many years to come.

We take a look at Donald Trump’s children, what they do, and the many controversies surrounding them.

Donald Trump Jr

Donald Trump Jr. speaks during a rally of supporters of US President Donald Trump
Donald Trump Jr. is President Trump's eldest child. Photo: Getty Images

Who is Donald Trump Jr?

Donald Trump Jr is the oldest of Trump’s children. Born in 1977, his mother is Trump’s first ex-wife Ivana, who is also mum to Ivanka and Eric. He has five children of his own with ex-wife Vanessa, who he divorced in 2018. His current girlfriend is Kimberley Guilfoyle, who is a former Fox TV host, and was a big part of the Trump election campaign.

What does he do?

Officially, Donald Jr is the executive vice president of the Trump Organisation. However, he’s become increasingly involved with politics since his dad took office, and many believe he has the same qualities that voters liked in his father. It’s been suggested he could be a candidate for a US Senate seat in Pennsylvania in 2022, and even run for President in 2024.

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Why he’s controversial:

He’s a supporter of right-wing conspiracy theories, and was briefly banned from Twitter after posting misinformation about the benefits of using hydroxychloroquine to fight against COVID. In October, on a day when over 1000 Americans died of COVID, he declared deaths were “almost nothing.”

He’s spoken out against transgender athletes and is currently being investigated for his role in inciting violence during the US Capitol attack, calling protesters “patriots” who were “sick of the bullsh*t” and repeatedly urging them to “fight” in a video before the attack.

Ivanka Trump

Ivanka Trump arrives to introduce her father, US President Donald Trump  during a "Make America Great Again" rally at Total Sports Park
Ivanka Trump was a senior political to her father during his single term. Photo: Getty Images

Who is Ivanka Trump?

Trump’s oldest daughter and second child with Ivana, Ivanka is Trump’s most famous child. Born in 1981, she worked as a model and ran her own lifestyle brand, which she closed in 2018 so she could focus on her new role as advisor to her dad. She married Jared Kushner in 2009, who was also given the role of one of Trump’s advisors. The couple have three children.

What does she do?

Ivanka was a major player in helping her father get elected and has remained influential during his time in office. She was credited with winning over many female voters back in 2016. She was given a West Wing office and security clearance without an official title, causing outrage amongst detractors. In an attempt to placate those calling nepotism, she was given the official title of advisor to the President and is believed to have her father’s ear at all times.

Why she’s controversial:

As well as being slammed for appearing at the G20 summit and trying to make conversation with a group of world leaders, she’s been criticised for appearing to stand in for her dad at other international summits, including one on health and migration in Africa. New York Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said: “It may be shocking to some, but being someone’s daughter actually isn’t a career qualification.”

Although Ivanka is reportedly moving to Florida when the family leaves the White House, it’s commonly believed she will not leave politics, and many suspect she will try her luck with a presidential run in 2024.

Eric Trump

Eric Trump, son of President Donald Trump controversial refuting election results
Eric Trump, called the election result a 'fraud'. Photo: AP

Who is Eric Trump?

The third of Donald’s children with ex-wife Ivana, Eric Trump was born in 1984. He married Lana Trump, who is a senior advisor to the President, in 2013, and the couple have two young children.

What does he do?

Eric is the executive Vice President of the Trump Organisation, and is responsible for the running of golf courses, hotels, offices, entertainment venues and residential properties. He became active in the election campaign in 2016 and has remained involved with his father’s presidency. There’s speculation that like his big brother and sister, he also has his eye on a run for the presidency in 2024.

Why is he controversial?

Why isn’t he? He set up a charity in 2007 and raised around $16 million for a children’s charity. It’s believed around $100,000 of this money was ‘re-donated’ to other charities connected with the Trump family. He’s threatened Republicans who failed to support Donald Trump’s bid to overturn the election result, saying “their political career is over”, and declared the election result as “fraud,” saying the voting was “rigged.”

He’s promoted right-wing conspiracy theorists QAnon on his social media accounts and suggested COVID-19 was a ploy to stop people attending his father’s rallies.

Tiffany Trump

Tiffany Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump, addresses Republican Convention
Tiffany Trump is the least-known Trump child. Photo: Getty Images

Who is Tiffany Trump?

The daughter of Donald Trump and Marla Maples, Tiffany Trump was born in 1993. She’s not as well known as her older siblings; while some say this is simply because she moved California when her parents divorced in 1999, others believe it’s because Donald always favoured his older children. She and her dad often go for months at a time without contact, according to a report from PEOPLE.

What does she do?

Tiffany completed a law degree earlier this year at Washington DC and is now working there as a research assistant. She has dabbled in the entertainment industry, releasing an (ill-received) single in 2010, and doing some modelling. She’s dating a billionaire heir, Michael Boulos.

Why is she controversial?

The main controversy surrounding Tiffany is the fact that she’s stepped back from the limelight. Unlike her older siblings, she hasn’t become a large part of the Trump administration, although she did end up speaking at the Republican National Convention earlier this year. It’s believed the relationship between Tiffany and Ivanka remains strained. According to Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who wrote in his book, “Disloyal: A Memoir: “Tiffany Trump was referred to as the “red-haired stepchild.” The book says that Ivanka Trump joined in this “casual cruelty” because she “jealously guarded her position as Trump’s favourite and surrogate, even at the expense of her vulnerable younger sister.”

Barron Trump

President Donald Trump, right, and his son Barron Trump
Barron Trump is Donald's youngest and his only child with current wife Melania. Photo: AP

Who is Barron Trump?

Barron Trump was born in 2006, and is the only child of Donald and his current wife Melania. During his father’s tenure at the White House, he’s been living at St. Andrew’s Episcopal school in Maryland, where he reportedly loves playing soccer.

What does he do?

As well as staying out of the limelight as much as possible, he’s become the face of TikTok movement #SaveBarron, which is based on the theory that Barron is being kept from living a normal life by his dad. Videos with this hashtag have more than 249 million views, with millions more comments of sympathy for the teen, saying things such as: "I feel like he secretly hates his family," and “he did not choose this life, let him free.”

Why is he controversial?

Mum Melania has fought hard to keep Barron out of the limelight, which has for the most part been successful. When he was 11, a news website commented on a photo of him wearing a t-shirt, suggesting it was time for him to “dress the part.” Former first child Chelsea Clinton came to his defence, saying "leave Barron Trump alone & let him have the private childhood he deserves.”

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