Eric Trump, the son of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, said in a radio interview this morning that his father is being unfairly asked about his early views on the invasion of Iraq because he was a “private citizen” at the time and was “not really studying these issues.”
Trump has repeatedly claimed on the campaign trail that he was opposed to the war in Iraq from the beginning; when evidence emerged that that is not the case, he claimed that he told radio host Sean Hannity that he opposed the war in conversations that conveniently do not survive on tape.
Eric Trump made the comment in a discussion of the upcoming presidential debate with conservative radio host Mike Gallagher this morning.
The younger Trump agreed with Gallagher that his father shouldn’t try to moderate his behavior because he’s able to “communicate with everyday, hard-working Americans like you and me.”
He complained that Lester Holt, the moderator of the last debate, was “totally biased” and failed to “ask one thing about the greatest Ponzi scheme in American history, which is the Clinton Foundation.”
Instead, he said, “we got the standard nonsense question, which is ‘Well, were you or were you not against the war in Iraq when you were a private citizen and you commented briefly for two seconds on the Howard Stern show.’ … When you’re building residential buildings all around the world and you’re not a politician you’re not really studying these issues at the time.”
Earlier in the interview, Eric Trump mused, “You know, I almost think you should have to contribute something to society before you can run.”
Implying that Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state who has had a long career in public service, has done nothing to contribute to society, he boasted of his father’s supposedly great business success, claiming that “everything he’s ever done” has “turned to gold.”
“My father’s built incredible companies and he’s been an incredible success and everything he’s ever done, he’s turned to gold, you know, it’s really turned to gold,” he said.
