Don Jr., yes. Ivanka, absolutely, unquestionably no.
In a SurveyMonkey poll for Axios, Republican voters chose children of President Trump — Don Jr. and Ivanka — as two of the top four picks for president in four years.
Why it matters: An early poll like this is largely a measure of name ID. But it’s also a vivid illustration of just how strong Trump’s brand is with the GOP.
Ivanka and Don Jr. find themselves near the top of a long list of politicians who have held elected office, many of them vocal supporters of the president.
The big picture: Don Jr. has emerged as one of the most prominent defenders of his dad, frequently going after the left on Twitter, where he has 4.2 million followers, and serving as a popular warm-up act for presidential rallies. His book — “Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us,” released in November — reached No. 1 on the N.Y. Times nonfiction bestseller list. In October, at a rally in San Antonio for president Trump’s re-election, the crowd chanted “2024!” as Don Jr. spoke.
Before we get too excited about the god-emperor-in-waiting, let’s focus on seeing the god-emperor himself reelected in 2020. Those who weirdly – and suspiciously – have questioned whether I have lost faith in President Trump simply because I am capable of pointing out the entirely obvious in the aftermath of the supposed Soleimani assassination are simply not paying attention to my comments on it. I will do a Darkstream on the subject tonight after the Vikings game.
I don’t know what is actually going on. Nor does anyone else, however much they might like to pretend that they do. But I would still rather have the god-emperor in the White House right now than any U.S. politician or world leader not named Duterte. Then again, the thought of what Duterte could do with the U.S. military at his disposal is terrifying.
On the one hand, the opioid crisis would definitely be over and the Devil Mouse would no longer exist. On the other, we might find ourselves maintaining a military occupation of California while caught up in a massive war with the Elder Ones in Antarctica.
Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson made what should be an obvious point and needs to be addressed by every current and would-be U.S. leader:
Before we enter into a single new war, there’s a criterion that ought to be met. Our leaders should explain to us how that conflict will make the United States richer and more secure. There are an awful lot of bad people in this world. We can’t kill them all. It’s not our job. Instead, our government exists to defend and promote the interests of American citizens. Period. That’s why we have a government. So, how has the killing of Soleimani done that? Maybe. No one in Washington has explained how.