Along for the ride
Trump children join president in London.
It wasn’t just President Donald Trump and wife Melania soaking up the royal treatment during their state visit to the United Kingdom. The president’s four adult children inserted themselves into the pomp at every turn.
Donald Trump Jr. posted on Instagram a photo of himself in white tie before Monday’s state dinner. His brother, Eric Trump, was part of the family’s Tuesday tour of the underground Churchill War Rooms. And Ivanka Trump, who doubles as a senior White House official, spent the day before her father’s arrival touring some of London’s art museums and then took her place by his side for a trade meeting Tuesday with Prime Minister Theresa May.
“Magical night at Buckingham Palace with my best friend!” she wrote, posting a photo on Instagram of herself alongside husband Jared Kushner ,a senior White House aide.
Tiffany Trump ,a Georgetown University law school student, also attended the dinner.
And all four claimed front-row seats at Trump’s news conference Tuesday with May. Only 13-year-old Barron, who lives at the White House with his parents, skipped the trip.
While Kushner and Ivanka Trump work in the White House, Eric and Donald Jr. lead their father’s empire, the Trump Organization, and are meant to keep a firewall between the government and the company. That line is often blurred, as the president regularly mixes government work with business promotion, and will do so in Europe.
The president declared his intent to stay at his golf course in Ireland while visiting that country on Wednesday. That decision set off a brief kerfuffle with the Irish government, which wanted the meeting between Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and Trump to take place somewhere more formal. A compromise was struck and the two leaders will meet in the Shannon airport.
The Trump children made their intention to accompany their father known about a month ago.
Doug Wead, who wrote a book about the children of U.S. presidents, said it was not inappropriate for a president’s children to accompany their father to experience major moments with him, such as the state visit.
“It’s nothing new,” said Wead, who worked for Republican President George H.W. Bush. Most Americans are used to having presidents with underage children, he said, “so we haven’t seen what happens with older children.”
The Trump children have joined the president at high-profile moments before, including his State of the Union addresses.
Eric’s wife, Lara Trump, who was also in London, is a senior adviser to the president’s re-election campaign.
Meanwhile, the young royals, including Princes Harry and William ,attended Monday’s dinner but have largely stayed out of sight during the visit.