Everything You Need to Know About Donald Trump Jr.
President Trump’s eldest child and namesake, known as “Don,” is his first child with first wife and former model Ivana. Don Jr., 42, serves as executive vice president of development & acquisitions at the Trump Organization—a dual role he shares with younger brother Eric—and is reportedly worth more than $150 million. He's close to his father—and like many in Trump's orbit, he was embroiled in a complicated scandal over Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Here's what else you need to know about Donald Trump, Jr.
He co-manages the Trump Organization through a trust.
Don runs President Trump's businesses, which is comprised of more than 500 companies with $3.6 billion in assets, alongside his broth Eric and the CFO of the c0mpany, Allen Weisselberg, through a trust that started in January 2017 when President Trump vacated his positions at various Trump Organization companies. It must be noted that the president still owns these companies, and the Trump sons and Weisselberg have stated that they would make business decisions without consulting President Trump.
He doesn’t have a job in his father’s administration, but was active in his presidential campaign and transition—most infamously, reportedly taking a meeting with a Russian lawyer who offered information about Hillary Clinton.
In June of 2016, Donald Trump Jr. reportedly attended a meeting with " Kremlin-connected" Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya alongside his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and then-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. They agreed to the meeting under the pretense that a Russian government official had incriminating information of Trump's opponent Hillary Clinton and was willing to share it with the Trump camp.
Per the New York Times, which broke the story of the meeting, an email from intermediary Rob Goldstone to Don Jr. said the documents "would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father."
Of Donald Jr.'s response, the Times wrote, "He replied within minutes: 'If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer.'"
This conduct was relevant in the Mueller investigation, which culminated in eldest Trump sibling being questioned in a 3-hour closed door session with the Senate Intelligence Committee that in turn prompted queries about whether Don Jr. lied to congress. Ultimately, though, this did not prove consequential in the subsequent impeachment proceedings against his father.
His conduct has raised questions about how separate the Trump Organization and the president’s administration.
“When it comes to Don Jr, a lot of what we look at has to do with how the Trump campaign, the Trump Organization and the Trump administration tend to all overlap, and he seems to be at the centre of a lot of that,” Jordan Libowitz, communications director at the legal watchdog organization CREW, explained to the Guardian.
Libowitz pointed to Don Jr.’s trip to India in Feburary 2018. “Newspapers all around the country had front page adverts in which they offered for a down payment, a chance to meet with him and have dinner with him,” Libowitz said. “So access to Don Jr is certainly available for the right price—that raises the question whether there is by proxy access to the president.”
He has a habit of sparking controversy on Twitter.
Don Jr. came under fire for tweeting and deleting a racist message from a right-wing personality after the first Democratic primary debate. It read, “Kamala Harris is implying she is descended from American Black Slaves. She’s not. She comes from Jamaican Slave Owners. That’s fine. She’s not an American Black. Period.”
Other Democratic candidates quickly condemned the tweet. “Donald Trump Jr is a racist too. Shocker,” tweeted Bernie Sanders.
Trump was also suspended from Twitter in late July 2020 after violating their misinformation rules when retweeting a video about the benefits of hydroxychloroquine.
In September 2016, Don drew social-media ire for tweeting a meme that compared refugees to Skittles. “If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you, would you take a handful?” it said. “That's our Syrian refugee problem.” An outpouring of responses on social media ensued—and the image was later removed from Twitter due to a copyright complaint from the photographer who took the Skittles photo—but not to be daunted, Don’s original tweet remains.
He and his former wife, Vanessa Trump, are divorced.
The former couple first announced their split in March 2018, and finalized their divorce in February 2019. “We finalized our agreement at the end of last year,” they said in a joint statement. “We are incredibly lucky to have five amazing children and are committed to raising them together. Our kids and their happiness will always be our first priority.”
Don Jr. is dating former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle.
The duo reportedly began dating back in April 2018, and about a year later, Guilfoyle joined Donald Trump’s reelection campaign as a senior adviser. The couple also shares a $4.5 million dollar Hampton house together.
Guilfoyle started her career as a prosecutor in San Francisco, and was once married to the city’s mayor, Gavin Newsom. She began her television career in 2004, soon becoming a regular figure on Fox News. Later, she served as the vice chairwoman of the pro-Trump super PAC, America First Action.
Guilfoyle also serves as a campaign proxy and spoke at the opening night of the GOP Convention on Monday, August 25.
He has five children.
Donald Jr. and his ex-wife Vanessa have five children together: Kai, Donald John III, Tristan, Spencer, and Chloe.
He may seek political office himself someday.
Don has told people he’s interested in running for office eventually—perhaps for governor of New York. In late 2019, it was speculated that he or his sister-in-law Lara Trump might run for a congressional seat in Long Island.
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