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Donald Trump Jr and not Ivanka is equipped to follow in dad's footsteps and run for president, says expert

The former president's eldest son's chances, however, may be hurt by the Capitol riots

Donald Trump Jr, the eldest son of former President Donald J. Trump, is the one following in his father's footsteps for a future bid for the White House — and not Ivanka Trump, according to an expert. The 43-year-old's chances, however, may be hurt by the disorder that plagued Washington on January 6, when the U.S. Capitol was breached by an angry mob of Trump supporters, Dr. Sinead McEneaney told Express UK.

It's worth noting that Don Jr., who serves as the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, has hinted at a possible run for the White House in the past. In the run-up to the November election, he even posed in front of a banner emblazoned with the words “Don Jr. 2024."

According to Dr. McEneaney, who is a lecturer in history at the Open University, Don Jr was better equipped than his 39-year-old sister when it came to striking a chord with his father's base. However, things have changed, he says. “I think that if you had asked these questions before January 6, the answers would have been quite different," McEneaney said. “Pre-January, polls showed surprising levels of backing for a 2024 run by Donald Trump Jr. I suspect this may have changed after the release of the video of him partying as his father encouraged supporters to march on the Capitol.”

However, she noted that "Donald Jr shares with his father" a "canny use of social media, especially for disinformation. He also shares his father’s abrasive, often quite aggressive, offensive personality.”

“I would suspect that he might fancy his chances at elected office more even than Ivanka," McEneaney continued, comparing the two siblings. “She doesn’t have the same ability to disrupt that he does. She often sits on the fence. This won’t speak to the Trumpist base in the same way as, say, Donald Jr might. Quite a lot will depend on what kind of information emerges about Trump and his family as the impeachment trial proceeds, and as the inevitable insider-accounts of the Trump White House start to be published," she added.

Donald Trump Jr. has been rather vague about his future political ambitions, albeit he shared a picture of the banner on Instagram in October. “Hahahahaha. Oh boy. This was a sign I saw up at the Fallon Nevada Livestock Auction," he commented at the time. “This will make the lib heads explode. To whoever made that thanks for the compliment... but let’s get through 2020 with a big win first!!!!”

After his father departed Washington, D.C. in the early hours of Wednesday, January 20, Don Jr. tweeted: “Donald Trump is the first president in modern history[sic] did not start a new war."

The 45th POTUS is currently facing an impeachment trial in the Senate after Democrats accused him of "inciting" the Capitol riots. Earlier this week, MEAWW reported how a number of "prominent Republicans" had also allegedly lobbied Mitch McConnell to impeach the former president. “Dozens of influential Republicans around Washington” have been pushing the Senate Minority Leader and other Congressional Republicans to convict Trump after the Capitol Hill riots, sources told CNN.