Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘Best president’ Donald Trump doing great after assassination attempt – son Eric

Eric Trump, 40, arrived at the family’s Aberdeenshire golf resort Trump International by helicopter on Saturday.

Sarah Ward
Saturday 03 August 2024 17:34 BST
Eric Trump during a visit to the Trump International resort in Aberdeenshire (Jane Barlow/PA)
Eric Trump during a visit to the Trump International resort in Aberdeenshire (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.

Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.

Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election

Head shot of Andrew Feinberg

Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Donald Trump is the best president the US has ever had and is “doing great” after the assassination attempt last month, his son Eric has said.

Eric Trump, 40, arrived at the family’s Trump International golf resort in Aberdeenshire by helicopter on Saturday to view a half-finished new course on the North Sea coast which will open next year.

The businessman and hotelier said the family’s investment in Scotland demonstrated why his father’s Republican candidacy for the US presidency would benefit Britain as he invited Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to visit the golf course.

You could probably draw a lot of parallels with Churchill - funny and un-politically correct, and effective. He says what everyone's thinking

Eric Trump on his father Donald

Speaking about the assassination attempt in the early hours of July 14, Mr Trump said: “It should never have been allowed to happen.

“Somebody let him down – as his son I’m not very happy about it. In the West, you can’t have leaders assassinated.

“When you spend three billion dollars on an agency, it was a failure that day. Those 48 hours could have been very different.

“He’s doing great, he’s out campaigning.”

Mr Trump described his father as “the best president his country has seen ever” and compared him to Winston Churchill due to his lack of political correctness.

He also described the Gaza war as “insane” and said he believed his father would meet with Palestinian leaders in a bid to end the war – as well as President Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin in a bid to end the war in Ukraine.

Mr Trump said: “You could probably draw a lot of parallels with Churchill – funny and un-politically correct, and effective.

“He says what everyone’s thinking.

“When he was shot with blood running down his face, chanting ‘fight, fight, fight’ – that’s what our country needs. There will never be a better ally for the UK and the West than Donald Trump.”

Asked if he would meet with Palestinian leaders, Mr Trump said: “I’m sure he would meet anybody, he doesn’t want wars.

“He will meet with both sides of a conflict. I think he would like to do that. I think he wants to put that conflict to bed – it’s insane what’s happening, every day.”

Asked if he agreed with Donald Trump’s ally Robert O’Brien – who described the International Criminal Court as “corrupt prosecutors and judges” – Mr Trump said: “Just in the last week we’ve seen a lot of corrupt judges.”

He described politics as “a pretty thankless game” and said: “It worked for Obama, Biden has got three houses. It seems a lot of people do really well from politics.”

Mr Trump said “the world was laughing at the Biden administration” and pledged his belief that his father would win the presidency, adding: “He wants to see people living the American dream.”

Speaking about Kamala Harris, his father’s rival for the presidency, he said: “What’s she done? She’s been in charge of AI and immigration – she doesn’t even know how to spell AI.”

Mr Trump vowed the new golf course would become “the best 36 holes in the world” when it opens in 2025.

He said: “What we have done on this side of the pond is incredible.”

While Mr Trump was visiting Aberdeenshire, one of his father’s old sparring partners – former first minister Alex Salmond – appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

In an interview with broadcaster Matthew Stadlen, Mr Salmond described the former president as “erratic”, and suggested he may have a difficult time against the Vice President, who he said was a “tough cookie”.

He added: “It’s a lot easier being Donald’s enemy, politically, than it is to be seen to be Donald’s friend.”

Mr Salmond also punctuated his appearance with a number of impressions of the former president.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in