Trump says his family ‘tolerates’ his running and he’s not worried about toll election takes on them
During an interview with Dr. Phil, Donald Trump talked about his wife, Melania, and his son, Barron, dealing with the constant headlines
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump told Dr Phil about the toll the 2024 election is having on his family as the two spoke on a number of issues during a wild interview.
When asked how his wife Melania is holding up, Trump said she was “good” and remains supportive of his presidential campaign. However, he admitted, it was not easy for her to see “fake” reports.
“I don’t think it’s an easy thing for her,” he said. “And I think if it wasn’t good, she wouldn’t want to tell me about it to be honest with you. Because, you know, she sees that I’m fighting like hell, I’m trying to become president and make America great again.”
Trump offered a similar assessment of how his youngest son Barron was handling the difficulties of his father being in the spotlight - especially after turning 18 years old.
“I think he doesn’t say because he doesn’t want to hurt me and thinks it’s a possibly a hurtful conversation, but it has to affect my family,” Trump said.
Ultimately, though, the former president believes his family “tolerate” his 2024 campaign out of patriotism and their faith in Donald Trump.
“I think to a certain extent, my family wants me to do it. Our country’s in trouble. We could be in a world war very soon,” Trump told the host, adding, “My family loves this country and I think they feel I do a good job.”
Trump’s proclamation comes as several members of his immediate family—including Barron, his daughter Ivanka, and Melania—did not attend the hush money trial, where Trump was convicted of falsifying business records as part of a 2016 campaign scheme to pay hush money to women claiming they had affairs with him.
The absences reportedly “definitely” bothered the former president.
In private, Melania reportedly considered the trial a “disgrace” and election interference, a source close to the Trump family told The New York Times.
However, Donald Jr. and Eric were frequent attendees at the trial and spoke out against the “witch hunt.” Tiffany Trump also made a rare appearance to support her father during the trial.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments