RNC is a Trump family affair: Donald Trump, Eric Trump to speak at convention

Each of Trump’s five children has become a minor political celebrity in their own right, and most have been heavily involved in Trump’s campaign, his previous administration, or the Trump Organization. And then there were some Trumps — including the Republican front-runner’s eldest grandson, Kai Trump — who made their national debuts this week.

The former president’s wife, Melania, and her eldest daughter, Ivanka, were both present at the closing night of the convention on Thursday but did not speak.

Here’s what you need to know about Trump’s family members at the Republican National Convention.

Trump’s second-eldest son, Eric Trump, 40, spoke at the convention Thursday night. He, like his brother Don Jr., is an executive vice president at the Trump Organization and has supported his father during the campaign, speaking at state conventions and in the media about the assassination attempt and their family.

“America knows they’re not just after you,” Eric Trump said in his speech, addressing his father in the audience with his version of a popular rallying cry among Trump loyalists. “They’re after all of us, and you just happen to be in the way.”

He listed the problems he said a Trump presidency would solve. “Everything is unaffordable,” he said, adding: “Our infrastructure is crumbling. Our border is out of control. Millions of people are dead and displaced in Russia and Ukraine, a war that has no end and a war that we are funding.”

Donald Trump Jr., 46, was among the last to speak Wednesday — just ahead of Usha Vance, the wife of vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, and the vice presidential candidate himself.

Trump’s eldest son often serves as his father’s surrogate and is executive vice chairman of the Trump Organization.

He spoke at length about the attempted assassination of his father at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania and praised Trump’s reaction as a sign of strength. “I have never been so proud of my father as I was at that moment,” he said.

Donald Trump Jr.’s daughter, Kai Trump, 17, gave what her father called her “first speech” on Wednesday, emphasizing what a supportive grandfather the elder Trump has been.

“A lot of people put my grandpa through hell, and he’s still standing,” she said. “Grandpa, you’re such an inspiration, and I love you. The media makes my grandpa seem like a different person.”

After she spoke, her father told her, “You crushed that,” while someone in the crowd shouted, “Kai 2040!”

Lara Trump, 41, co-chair of the Republican National Committee and wife of Eric Trump, was the first Trump family member to speak on the convention’s main stage Tuesday night.

Lara Trump spoke of her father-in-law’s role as a family man who “sacrificed himself for his country,” and urged voters “not to believe any outrageous story about the terrible things Donald Trump will do if he becomes president.”

Interestingly, in her primetime speech, she gave a shout-out to “gay supporters.” The Republican Party has just removed opposition to gay marriage from its platform.

Kimberly Guilfoyle, 55, the fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., was among the speakers on Wednesday who said Trump survived his assassination attempt thanks to divine intervention. Guilfoyle, who is also a Trump adviser, began her speech by saying she knows “God has put a protective armor over Donald Trump.”

Guilfoyle railed against President Biden and the Democrats, arguing that Trump supporters are “being made to feel like enemies in our own country.”

Notable members of the Trump family did not speak at the convention. Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, 54, and Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, 42, are not on the list of announced headliners and keynote speakers, but they did appear at the convention on Thursday night, its final night.

Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, joined her father and close supporters at the convention on Thursday. Melania Trump also appeared, dressed in red and waving to supporters as she walked to her seat with other family members in the VIP box.

Ivanka Trump, who served as a senior adviser to her father during his presidency, said in 2022 that she would support her father outside the political arena because she wanted to protect her family’s privacy. And Melania Trump has increasingly disappeared from the public eye since the end of Trump’s presidency, though in a rack On Sunday, she praised her husband over the shooting as a “generous and caring man.”

Donald and Melania Trump’s son, Barron Trump, 18, will also not speak.