In a Wednesday op-ed for CNN , authoritarianism expert and historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat claimed that Donald Trump Jr.’s holiday video with his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle revealed a habit of the family’s brand of politics.
The columnist pointed to a particular comment from Trump Jr. that appeared to insult his girlfriend.
“I’ve managed to maintain a very low bar with Kimberly. I don’t want her to get too big an ego, or accustomed to kindness. I want to keep her tough,” he said.
According to Ben-Ghiat, the comment — which she admitted could be “charitably interpreted as a joke” — revealed the “dynamics of emotional domination” that have come to define the Trump family’s politics, both in public and private. The columnist noted that Donald Trump is known for putting down not just his top officials and advisers but also his supporters, who he notoriously left stranded in the cold on multiple occasions during rallies he held amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Donald Jr. features in both these ambitions. He is an explosive presence on the Republican political scene, full of bombast as a speaker and quick to rile up his audiences with insults and attacks on the various groups his father has worked so hard to demonize. “
At the end of the piece, Ben-Ghiat suggested that the Trump family’s approach is not ideal for leadership due to its members’ lack of empathy and argued that another generation of Trumps who adhere to the “toughness” brand could challenge the health of American democracy.
The Trump brand has been criticized by other prominent political figures. According to CNN , former President Barack Obama argued in October that the president’s “tough guy schtick” is fake. The publication claimed that the former U.S. leader argued that Trump is, in reality, a “thin-skinned bully.” Obama pointed in particular to the head of state’s decision to walk out of a high-profile interview with Lesley Stahl.
Despite some pushback against its brand, the Trump family doesn’t appear ready to let go of its political aspirations anytime soon. As The Inquisitr reported, the U.S. leader’s former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, previously claimed that the family has its eyes on a dynasty that will recreate the Republican Party for decades to come.
Elsewhere, Trump Jr. hinted at the possibility of a 2024 presidential run after posing next to a sign that teased a campaign, The Guardian reported.
“This will make the lib heads explode,” he wrote on Instagram.
