With voters going to the polls in just over a month from now to decide on who they want as the 47th President of the United States, Eric Trump speaks to Arabian Business in an exclusive interview about tensions, assassinations, investments and his love for Dubai.
Twice this year Donald Trump’s life has been at immediate risk. An assassination attempt in July which saw a bullet whizz past his head and take a chunk of his ear whilst speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania. And then another just two months later at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida where a secret service agent spotted a rifle poking through a fence. Now, a third one is looming, it’s causing grave concern for his family, not least his third born, Eric Trump.
Trump assassination attempts
“It’s not fun to watch somebody wanting to try and kill your father. I was sitting there with my children on my lap and nearly saw my father get assassinated on live TV,” he told Arabian Business.
“Iran are now targeting him,” he says cautiously, revealing he believes it’s down to the fact his father would reimpose sanctions on the nation if he re-elected as President.
“That’s one of the reasons they are trying to kill him. And I think there would be incredible consequences to pay if something did happen. I think you’d have a country that would frankly be up in arms. But he is surrounded by incredible people. I’ve never seen so much security in my life,” he boasts.
Eric Trump tells us his father is “doing great” and putting politics aside, reminisced on how the last few months had been “scary moments for our family.”
Eric Trump’s confidence in his father’s diplomacy
But despite this new threat, Trump believes his father is the “only one” who can resolve the escalating conflict in the Middle East, because he is “adored” in the region. Even confirming he would be willing to “sit across the table” with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, “when the time is right.”
“The respect he gets from the entire Gulf is incredible. The leaders there love him, and they love what he stands for; his strength, his tenacity and the backbone.”
“To end this needless conflict, you need perceived strength and unfortunately, we have a President who doesn’t have any and a Vice President who doesn’t have any. But my father will solve that conflict.”
It was only in July the former President claimed he could end the Russia-Ukraine war in a day if he’s re-elected. Eric Trump believes he can do the same with the Middle East.
“I think firstly, he’s going to fix Russia and Ukraine,” he boldly claims. “And then he’ll restore sanity to the Middle East where there’s a lot of levers to pull. Donald Trump is not playing games; we don’t need a World War III”
Eric Trump criticises Kamala Harris
As expected, not least during a divisive election campaign, Eric Trump’s criticisms of his father’s presidential opponent were fierce. Branding Kamala Harris as “inept”, “weak” and not “the right person” for the region.
“I don’t think Kamala Harris could show you the Middle East on a map.” He jests.
“This is a person who never spent any time in the region. The weakness that has come out of the White House has been sad to see and we’ve seen that globally. They haven’t done a damn thing about the Middle East.”
“My father is a great capitalist; I think he’d bring great trade relations and capital relations to this region. I think Harris couldn’t spell capital. She knows nothing about the region, her policies have been disastrous because all it’s done is create an absolute hornet’s nest of mess, of violence, of destruction and chaos.”
She may not have visited the region, but on President Sheikh Mohamed’s official visit to the United States in September he met with both Kamala Harris and the outgoing President Joe Biden, where they spoke of their “powerful partnership”.
Trump Organization’s investments in the Gulf
Where perhaps the Trump family have a one-upmanship on Kamala Harris’s ties with the region, is investment and development. For a number of years now, the Trump Organization which Eric Trump branded as “the most famous Western brand in the world,” have been building not just towers and resorts – but relationships too. The details of their latest venture with Dar Global which is set to include the new Trump Tower Dubai, will be revealed later this year.
Speaking to Arabian Business, Eric Trump said: “I’m a big believer in the Gulf, I love the mentality and the work ethic. If you were to bring 90 per cent of the projects that have been built in Dubai in the last 15 years to Europe or the rest of the world, they’d be laughed at. So it’s a developers paradise if you want to build something incredible, iconic and really push the boundaries.”
“They brought New York City, Las Vegas, Monaco all together and made it appeal to everybody including tourists and Fortune 500 CEOs.”
Manager of the Trump global real estate power, Eric told Arabian Business he’s often visited the UAE with his father, but never as President. He hopes to bring him here as the 47th President of the United States.
“My father wants fair trade with the whole world and the UAE is important in that. The possibilities between America and the Gulf are endless and I think the partnership would be stronger than ever before when he’s elected,” he confidently says.
Back to America and the election race is incredibly tight and most definitely too close to call. Kamala Harris is marginally ahead in many polls, but it’s the marginal states that are key, where many voters could align with Donald Trump when the time comes. Eric Trump says regardless of the outcome he’s “proud of the fight” his father has put up and “proud of the incredible work he’s done,” but also confident that the man who clearly has a lot of influence across the Gulf, can return to the White House.
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