Donald Trump Jr, the oldest son of the US president, has said that he would like to see the United States maintain its global leadership and work with “incredible allies” like India to make the world a safer place.
Trump Jr also promised that his father’s re-election campaign in 2020 will be as entertaining as Bollywood films but, “with a lot less dancing”.
Unlike his sister and brother-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Trump Jr has no role in his father’s administration but has been an active and popular surrogate for the president on the campaign trail and at rallies and events, triggering speculation that he might be weighing a political future for himself.
His debut book released recently, “Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us”, has been among the top of The New York Times’s list of bestselling books.
His remarks on India and Bollywood came at an event with Indian Americans in New York’s Long Island. He was accompanied by his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is also an adviser to Trump’s re-election campaign and a former Fox News anchor.
“I want to see America maintain its rightful place as the leader of the free world,” said Trump Jr, according to PTI.
{{/usCountry}}“I want to see America maintain its rightful place as the leader of the free world,” said Trump Jr, according to PTI.
{{/usCountry}}“I want to see them work with their incredible allies, like India to make the world a safer place. To use democracy as a shining beacon of light for everyone to be able to learn from,” he said.
India and the United States are not allies technically despite growing ties, not in the same sense as America’s signatory allies. The two countries themselves have officially preferred “partners” and “friends” to describe the relationship, but a lot of Americans, including many seasoned lawmakers, freely use the word “allies”.
Trump Jr went on to say he was the first in the Trump organization to push for the company to do “some deals” in India. And though he did not mention it, the Trump Organization’s largest overseas operations are in India with at least 16 entities at one stage. His visit to India in 2018 had raised questions about conflicts of interest as the Trump Organization has given an undertaking to cease expanding overseas for the duration of President Trump’s presidency.
Speaking generally of his push on India, Trump Jr, who runs the Trump Organization now with his younger brother Eric Trump, said, according to PTI, “It was interesting, and certainly a little bit of a culture shock, it also made me appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit that so resides in my friends in the Indian community - that notion that you get a deal, go and get whatever it takes to make something happen and get it going.”
And there were some lasting impressions, such as Bollywood. But probably not all of it was so impressive. Talking about his father’s re-election campaign, Trump Jr said, “We do have a long year ahead. It’ll be entertaining because my father will keep it so, I promise you that. It will be like Bollywood with a lot less dancing. But it will be fun, I can assure you it’s going to be very important for all of us to be engaged, to be in the game.”