The younger Trump has emerged as a cultural emissary for his father, speaking against “woke” activism and signaling his appeal through anti-cancel-culture buzzwords. His book “Triggered” topped bestseller lists, and Trump Jr. presents a more internet-savvy version of his father’s brusque, boomer message. Through memes and incendiary social media posts, Trump Jr. exudes the pushing-the-envelope free speech ethos of his father’s base.
Trump Jr. often stands in for his father at campaign events, and he has become a fundraising machine for the president’s reelection campaign. His prominence in the conservative sphere, particularly among youth, has had a major impact on his life. Over the course of his father’s presidency, he has gone from a relatively low-key real estate heir to an icon of the right. A poll by Axios and SurveyMonkey revealed a considerable share of Republican voters supporting a Trump Jr. bid for the presidency in 2024.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, has also played a major role in Trump’s campaign as his national campaign finance chair and delivered her own remarks largely mirroring those of Trump Jr.’s during the first night of the RNC. The couple presented an image of a power couple, becoming some of the more memorable speakers of Monday’s programming.
Trump Jr.’s Monday attacks mirrored common themes of the Democratic National Convention only the week before, which offered a scathing attack on the president as nurturing the country’s most bigoted sentiments and leaving behind working people. But Trump Jr. tried Monday to take the mantel of the party of tolerance for the Republicans.
“In the past, both parties believed in the goodness of America. We agreed on where we wanted to go. We just disagreed on how to get there,” Trump Jr. said. “This time the other party is attacking the very principles on which our nation was founded.”
Trump Jr. also disparaged Democrats as the party of elite globalists leaving behind working Americans. Democratic challenger Joe Biden, he said, had proposed an economic platform “designed to crush the working man and woman.”
“Joe Biden is basically the Loch Ness Monster of the swamp,” Trump Jr. said.