Eric Trump's Most Bizarre Behavior Since His Dad Left Office
The following article includes mentions of substance abuse and addiction.
When Donald Trump was beaten by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, his family and supporters didn't see the crushing loss coming. And according to insiders, his son Eric Trump was particularly bewildered when the Republican incumbent's early lead disappeared overnight on November 3.
As Phil Rucker and Carol Leonnig's book "I Alone Can Fix It" uncovered, Eric, who had previously predicted that his father would sail to victory, lost his temper with staffers. "Where are these votes coming from? How is this legit?" he reportedly screamed at data analysts once results started rolling in from Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. "We pay you to do this. How can this be happening?" A spokesperson for the younger Trump son later claimed that he never "berated" campaign staff, despite witnesses recalling otherwise.
And as it turned out, that chaotic election night was a harbinger of the next year to come. Keep reading to find out exactly what kind of scandals and controversies Eric has faced since his family was kicked out of the White House.
Eric Trump kept spending taxpayer money
Although Eric Trump is reportedly worth over $25 million, according to Forbes, the businessman has seemingly been more than willing to spend taxpayer money rather than his own over the past few years. One 2017 trip to Uruguay cost $97,830 in taxpayer dollars, per The Washington Post, thanks to the expensive hotel bills he racked up while promoting the Trump Organization.
And taxpayers continued footing the bill for Eric's protection even after his dad was no longer president, as The Washington Post found out. In the first year after Donald Trump left office, Eric, along with siblings Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Tiffany Trump, spent over $850,000 on travel and hotels for their security detail. Under normal circumstances, the Secret Service is no longer required to protect the adult family members of a former president once a new leader has moved into the White House. But Donald decided to demand an additional six months of protection for his children, as well as a few of his former staffers.
Protection for Eric alone cost $241,000 — and some of that money went straight into the Trump family's pockets since the Secret Service had to book rooms in Trump properties to accompany him on trips.
He threatened Republican lawmakers
Shortly before Trump supporters attempted to seize the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the former president's family members were urging Republicans to stand up against the "fraud" that they argued had cost Donald Trump the election, per CNN.
"I will personally work to defeat every single Republican Senator / Congressman who doesn't stand up against this fraud — they will be primaried in their next election and they will lose," Eric Trump warned in a since-deleted tweet. Per HuffPost, there were so many incredulous responses that the name Eric started trending on Twitter, as many struggled to believe that he was really threatening any Republican lawmakers who didn't try to overturn the Electoral College votes.
During the "Save America March" that took place on the White House Ellipse on January 6, Eric's brother echoed his thoughts, as Politico reported. "To those Republicans, many of which may be voting on things in the coming hours: You have an opportunity today," Donald Trump Jr. insisted. "You can be a hero, or you can be a zero ... The whole world is watching, folks. Choose wisely."
Although it would be quickly overshadowed, Eric's birthday also took place on that day. The businessman shared that there was "one birthday present that I want from all the senators and all the congressmen: Have some backbone. Show some fight. Learn from Donald Trump!"
The Trump son attacked 'cancel culture'
When the Trump family began to feel the consequences of their supporters launching a deadly invasion of the U.S. Capitol building, Eric Trump was quick to blame cancel culture. "We live in the age of cancel culture, but this isn't something that started this week. It is something that they have been doing to us and others for years," he told AP News after the January 6 riots led to a widespread boycott of the Trump Organization. "If you disagree with them, if they don't like you, they try and cancel you."
According to The New York Times, many of the organization's biggest partners had swiftly cut ties with the Trump family and their brand, including Deutsche Bank and Signature Bank. Donald Trump was reportedly most upset about the relocation of a prestigious golf tournament, which was supposed to be held at one of his courses. "It has become clear that conducting the P.G.A. Championship at Trump Bedminster would be detrimental to the P.G.A. of America brand," said Jim Richerson, the president of P.G.A. of America.
Nevertheless, Eric stayed positive about his father's chances of recovering from the boycott. "You have a man who would get followed to the ends of the Earth by a hundred million Americans," he insisted, telling AP News that his dad had "created the greatest political movement in American history" and that "his opportunities are endless." When the AP News reporter asked whether he felt that Donald was responsible for stirring up the crowd at the U.S. Capitol, Eric seemingly hung up.
He made wild claims about Donald Trump's popularity
Eric Trump was mocked on social media when, in an interview with Sean Hannity, he made a series of wild claims about his father's presidency. "They wanna tar and feather the man," the Trump Organization executive vice president lamented (via Indy 100). "They know he did a great job for this nation. They know that there's never been a more beloved political figure in our country's history."
As many pointed out, Donald's actual approval ratings told a different story throughout his presidency. According to Gallup, the president managed to hit a record-low overall score of 41%, and his final approval rating in January 2021 was a shockingly terrible 34%. Eric also told Hannity that there were "75 million Americans" out there who "would follow [Donald Trump] to the end of Earth," adding, "I mean, they love the man, they love what he stands for." While 74 million voters did side with the Republican incumbent, the number sounds less impressive in the context of the 81 million who voted for Joe Biden.
Eric has a history of exaggerated claims about his father: In 2019, he appeared on "Fox and Friends" to insist that "95 percent" of Americans agreed with Donald's message, which was far from the truth in terms of statistics. "My father is in there, and he's fighting every single day. And he has to fight against the media. He has to fight against these lunatics," Eric insisted at the time, per Politico.
Eric Trump's business was investigated for fraud
Eric Trump can boast of playing a major role in the Trump Organization as its executive vice president, overseeing the family's business interests across real estate, hotels, golf courses, casinos, and more. Unfortunately for him, the organization has also been repeatedly accused of fraud.
The Trump family's legal troubles intensified in July 2021 when the Manhattan district attorney's office formally charged the organization, per CNN, accusing the company of falsifying financial records over 15 years. Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was also charged with 15 felony counts, including criminal tax fraud, grand larceny, and taking part in a scheme to defraud the government.
Former ally Michael Cohen told NBC's "Meet the Press" that prosecutors could "indict Donald Trump tomorrow if they really wanted and be successful," insisting that his business affairs were fraudulent. "I can assure you that Donald Trump is guilty of his own crimes. Was I involved in much of the inflation and deflation of his assets? The answer to that is yes." He also said that Eric and the other Trump children were likely targets of the investigation into their family's organization, and during an appearance on MSNBC's "The ReidOut," he suggested that Donald would "flip on all of" his kids to save his own skin.
He went after Hunter Biden
After the Trump Organization was charged with tax fraud, Eric Trump made an apparent attempt to distract the media from the family's ongoing legal woes by slamming President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden, implying that his own legal troubles were nothing in comparison. "You know, the difference is I'm not Hunter Biden," he told Newsmax, claiming that he and his brother had "lived amazingly clean" lives and weren't afraid of being indicted. "I'm not selling paintings to undisclosed people for half a million dollars apiece. I'm not doing drugs in shady hotels," he added. Hunter has been open about his struggles with addiction and recovery, which he discussed in his memoir.
"I'm not going out soliciting prostitution, and I'm not going out and selling influence to the Ukraine and China and having lavish trips paid for while my father's commander in chief," Trump continued, stressing that he and his siblings worked "very, very hard" and therefore shouldn't be investigated over their business dealings. "And guess what, long before politics ever came into our lives, we were in the business world and we were successful and we worked very hard and we lived clean lives," he added, insisting that the legal system should be looking at the Biden family instead.
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Eric Trump had a meltdown about subpoenas
In a 2021 interview with Fox News, Eric Trump complained about the scrutiny his family's business affairs had received, accusing the Democratic party of trying to bury the Trumps in subpoenas. As CNN reported, his father Donald Trump has also faced legal scrutiny over the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol building, as well as defamation lawsuits and licensing skirmishes.
"The problem with the Democrats is they dig so deep that they always find themselves," Eric told Fox News, insisting that his family's legal troubles were an ongoing targeted campaign from their political rivals. "And the reason I'm frustrated about this is every single day since my father ran for president, my father and our entire family and our company has been under investigation. Every single day, Maria, we get subpoena after subpoena after subpoena."
He continued airing his grievances by accusing the Democratic party of using the DOJ, military, education system, and even the medical system to go after the Trumps. "The Democrats weaponize absolutely everything they can to use against their political opponents," he complained.
The businessman gave his dad credit for the COVID-19 vaccine
Eric Trump has stretched the truth on a few subjects, but his most baffling claim might have been when he told Sean Hannity that Donald Trump was single-handedly responsible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
"I mean, my father was producing the vaccine," the businessman insisted (via Rev). "By the way, people were taking it in record numbers." He went on to disparage Joe Biden's own record on the coronavirus, criticizing the Democrat for "shoving things down American's throats" through mandates. "He's actually scared America about the vaccine, which hadn't happened under my father," he alleged.
According to the CDC's own data, the number of daily vaccinations actually peaked in April 2021, a few months after Biden took over. On April 1 alone, 4.5 million doses were administered. Americans were relatively hesitant about the jab in December 2020 at the end of Donald's presidency, according to polling by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which found that roughly a quarter of the general public was skeptical at the time.
"We haven't seen any sign that vaccine hesitancy has increased over time," Liz Hamel, vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, explained to FactCheck.org, contradicting Eric's claims. "It's pretty remarkable. You rarely see something that stays that stable over time."
Eric Trump slammed New York
When New York Attorney General Letitia James first began investigating the Trump Organization in a probe that required Eric Trump's testimony, per BBC News, he made it very clear how he felt.
"Without any basis, the NYAG has pledged to take my father down from the moment she ran for office," the former president's son tweeted at the time. And after the Trump Organization's chief financial officer was charged with fraudulently hiding millions in taxes from the government, Eric appeared on Fox News in July 2021 to insist that New York itself was the problem.
"Crime is rampant, people are leaving the city in record numbers. It's dirty, it's disgusting. New York is no longer what it is," the businessman declared, before seemingly suggesting that a few million dollars aren't that big of a deal. "And they have an entire district attorney's office and attorney general's office that's focused on $3.5 million to take down a political opponent? I mean, this is what they do, this is New York state for you, this is worse than a banana republic, it's truly horrible." He went on to suggest that the investigation was only happening because investigators feared that Donald Trump would run for president again.
He sparred with Scottish politicians
In February 2021, Patrick Harvie, one of the leaders of Scotland's Green party, proposed an investigation into the financing behind two Trump golf courses in Aberdeenshire and Ayshire, prompting a furious reply from Eric Trump.
"Patrick Harvie is nothing more than a national embarrassment with his pathetic antics that only serve himself and his political agenda," he declared, according to Newsweek, dismissing the probe as an empty gesture. "If Harvie and the rest of the Scottish government continue to treat overseas investors like this, it will deter future investors from conducting business in Scotland, ultimately crushing their economy, tourism and hospitality industries."
Harvie was undeterred by Eric's warning. "As entertaining as Eric Trump's tantrum is, he doesn't say where his dad got the money to buy his Scottish golf courses, which is exactly why I'm calling on the Scottish government to seek an unexplained wealth order," he responded, per BBC News, insisting that there were still "serious concerns" about how the Trump golf courses were run and suggesting that the government was giving preferential treatment to wealthy businessmen like Trump over members of local communities. But the Scottish Parliment ultimately rejected the call to probe the properties, deciding that "it would be an abuse" of the law.
The Trump son headlined an anti-vax event
Eric Trump sparked controversy when he was booked to speak at a conference called "The Truth About Cancer Live," which was linked to skepticism about vaccines. The couple behind the conference, Ty and Charlene Bollinger, made their name in the world of pseudoscience by pushing "unproven alternatives to chemotherapy" and have since become devoted to spreading vaccine disinformation, per AP News. The couple has made millions of dollars selling an anti-vaccine video series.
Their response to the COVID-19 vaccine drew accusations that the Bollingers were "some of the nation's biggest vaccine misinformation superspreaders," as NPR reported. "If we're superspreaders, we're superspreaders of the truth," Charlene responded. "We have countless testimonies of people that are alive today because of our work, and this is straight from heaven. God has put us on this Earth for such a time as this."
Eric Trump tried to distance himself from the Bollingers' views. "I am not there to talk about vaccines," he told The Daily Beast in an email. "I am in Nashville to talk about the accomplishments of the 45th President of the United States." According to Eric, one of those accomplishments was the coronavirus vaccine — Donald Trump has repeatedly tried to take credit for its creation. "As to labeling something an anti-vaccine event, it wouldn't make much sense for me to attend as a vaccinated person if it was," he added.
Eric Trump mocked the military
While delivering the keynote address at the "Truth About Cancer Live" conference in Nashville, Eric Trump told a crowd of vaccine skeptics and QAnon conspiracy theorists that the Democratic party was weakening America. He took aim at the modern-day U.S. Army in particular, claiming that General Mark Milley had let down the country.
"China this week launched a hypersonic weapon that literally went around the globe several times in low Earth orbit [and] could carry nuclear weapons, and we, our generals, are sitting there talking about sensitivity training," the businessman complained, according to The Telegraph. "Why aren't we focused on winning wars anymore?"
The Trump family previously ran into trouble with the American military when the former president himself was accused of calling soldiers "suckers" and "losers," per The Atlantic. According to The New York Times, Donald Trump denied this, but his mocking remarks about former prisoner of war John McCain and his alleged lack of respect for the war dead were some of the potential reasons that his approval ratings among the troops dipped, leaving his Democratic rival Joe Biden as the most popular presidential candidate with members of the military.