The U.S. Constitution explicitly prohibits presidents from seeking a third term. Despite this, Donald Trump has publicly flirted with the idea. It doesn’t seem likely that the current White House occupant, now 82 years old, will be able to bypass the law this time — but there’s always the option of clinging to power through his children.
Eric, for example, hinted last weekend at an interest in Washington affairs during an interview with the British newspaper Financial Times, which titled the piece: “Eric Trump opens door to political dynasty.” “I think the political path would be an easy one, meaning, I think I could do it,” he says in the interview. “And by the way, I think other members of our family could do it too.”
Eric is the third child from Donald Trump’s first marriage. He was born when Trump was a famous New York real estate tycoon, before becoming a reality TV star who would eventually go on to lead the United States. Reflecting on that experience, Eric says in the FT interview that if he hesitates to make a move toward the White House, it’s because of his children. He’s unsure whether it would be fair to put them through what he himself has endured over the 10 years since his father descended the escalator at Trump Tower in New York to announce his presidential ambitions.
News that 43-year-old Eric wouldn’t rule out the nation’s highest office came as a surprise. His ex-wife, Lara Trump, is co-chair of the Republican National Committee, but he has always been the son focused on business, unlike Donald Jr., who has taken on a more overtly political role.
Donald Jr., now 47, is a prominent figure in the MAGA movement and an effective fundraiser for his father’s campaigns. He hosts a podcast and writes a newsletter in which he comments on political news from Washington. He played a key role in promoting his friend J.D. Vance as a vice presidential candidate in the last election, and during a recent visit to Qatar, when asked whether he would consider stepping in to replace his father, Trump’s eldest son replied: “I don’t know, maybe one day. That calling is there.”
Interestingly, Ivanka Trump — at 43, the second of the Trump siblings — played a prominent role in her father’s first administration (2017–2021), alongside her husband, Jared Kushner, who was known in Washington as “the golden son-in-law.” But both have been notably absent from the current administration.
As for the youngest of Trump’s children, Barron — Melania Trump’s only son — he is still young. At 19, however, he has already made his mark. It was his idea for his father to appear during the 2024 campaign on podcasts associated with the manosphere, which earned him a significant number of votes among young men.
Donald Trump is also a “son of”: he inherited the family real estate business from his father. Despite his efforts to present himself as a self-made man, investigative reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig debunked those “illusions of success” in their book Lucky Loser, published last year. They demonstrated that one of the two main sources of Trump’s wealth comes from inheritance (the other being the money he earned as a reality TV star).
Perhaps due to this familiarity with nepotism, during the Republican National Convention in July, the then-presumptive nominee proudly showcased his family. He introduced a new face to the public: his granddaughter Kai, and spent nearly the entire week surrounded by relatives.
Any of Trump’s descendants would face a steep climb to reach the White House — a place already being eyed by several Republican hopefuls for the 2028 nomination (among them, Vice President Vance). But it wouldn’t be without precedent: in U.S. history, there have been two father-son presidential dynasties.
The most recent is that of the two George Bushes, who governed from 1989 to 1993 and 2001 to 2009, respectively. That family story also includes a failed attempt to elevate the younger brother, Jeb Bush, who served as governor of Florida and ran in the 2016 Republican primaries, ultimately won by Trump. Before them, there were John Adams (1797–1801), the country’s second president, and his son John Quincy Adams (1825–1829), the sixth.
When it comes to distant family ties, the Roosevelts and the Harrisons also stand out. Teddy and Franklin Delano Roosevelt were distant cousins, and both were monumental presidents in U.S. history — the former in the early 20th century, and the latter during the Great Depression (which he helped the country overcome) and World War II. Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893), for his part, was the grandson of William H. Harrison, an unfortunate man who held the presidency for just 32 days before dying of pneumonia in 1841.
Returning to the Trumps, Eric’s possible entry into politics wasn’t the only family-related topic he touched on in his Financial Times interview. He claimed, “If there’s one family that hasn’t profited off politics, it’s the Trump family.”
Given the seemingly endless list of conflicts of interest since the patriarch’s inauguration this past January — ranging from real estate deals and multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency investments to the creation of the $TRUMP memecoin, which has earned them $350 million — his statement proves at least one thing: when it comes to a complicated relationship with the truth, the son is just like the father.
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President Eric Trump? The Republican’s family floats the idea of a political dynasty – EL PAÍS English
