Donald Trump is most ‘beloved political figure in US history,’ son Eric says

President's overall popularity rating plummeted before leaving office

The president’s second oldest son has once again rallied to defend his father with the ambitious claim that “there’s never been a more beloved political figure” in the United States than Donald Trump.

Speaking to Sean Hannity on Fox News on Tuesday, Eric Trump voiced resentment at the upcoming Senate trial facing his father after the House impeached him while president.

“They tried to manufacture everything under the sun against my father, against all of us,” he said, speaking of the Democrats' decision to impeach Mr Trump in the wake of the deadly Capitol riot on 6 January.

He then incorrectly added: “They do it every single day. They continue to do it. Even when he’s a private citizen, they’re still trying to impeach him.”

Mr Trump was impeached when he was still president in January while he was not a private citizen. The Senate trial will now convene to decide whether he is convicted.

Eric Trump then went on to make the doubtful claim that: “They know he did a great job for this nation. They know that there’s never been a more beloved political figure in our country’s history.”

He added: “There are 75 million Americans who would follow him to the end of Earth. I mean, they love the man, they love what he stands for."

The 36-year-old's statements are misleading, with the former president’s overall popularity rating (with Republican and Democrat voters alike) plummeting ahead of his leaving office.

Pew Research Center slated Mr Trump’s disapproval rating at 68 per cent and his approval rating at 29 per cent, in a poll of 5,360 adults conducted between 8-12 January.

Five people died in the violence and Mr Trump became the first president to have ever been impeached twice.

And, while Mr Trump received just over 74 million votes in the election, he was outweighed by Joe Biden, who secured over 81 million votes.

An average of popularity polls by Five Thirty Eight showed that Mr Trump left the White House with a more than 57 per cent disapproval rating.

Mr Trump was also one of only 10 US presidents who ran for reelection and lost, and the first incumbent to have lost a second term since 1992.

Among Republicans, Mr Trump’s popularity may have begun to bounce back since he left office, with half of the respondents in a Morning Consult poll saying they think he should play a “major role” in the GOP’s future.

House Democrats laid out their impeachment case against Mr Trump on Tuesday in a comprehensive memorandum accusing him of inciting the failed insurrection at the Capitol.

The former president’s lawyers have also issued their own 14-page response to the impeachment objecting to the trial as “unconstitutional”.