When Lara Trump was 5 years old, she told her mother, “I'm going to be a part of something really big.''
“That's great, sweetie,” mom Linda replied.
On January 20, Lara, now 42, will stand on the steps of the Capitol to watch her father-in-law, Donald Trump, take the oath of office for the second time. She hinted to the Post that she intends to do so as a former co-chair of the RNC, perhaps in a high-profile new role.
“We are excited to share something very positive and look forward to building on the accomplishments of the incoming Trump administration in the coming weeks,” she explained.
In fact, Lara said she embodies why women should feel like they can trust their next president.
“This is a man who cares about women,” Lara told The Post in an exclusive interview. “And as a woman who came into this family, I tell you that from a background where I couldn't relate to the Trump family, a business family whose name is known to people all over the world.
“Donald Trump helped me get to where I am today, and he's always been a champion for the women around him.”
She said there are “so many great examples of strong women around Donald Trump, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt, Cabinet nominees like Kristi Noem and Linda McMahon, and attorney Alina Haba.” “There is,” he pointed out.
“I think that's what people who know Donald Trump appreciate. He doesn't care what you look like, he doesn't care about your religion, he doesn't care about your gender, he doesn't care who you love.” .
“He cares about whether you can do your job to the best of your ability,” Lara said. “As a woman, I don’t want anyone to give me a job because of their gender, so this is a blessing.”
She believes the United States will have a female president in her lifetime — “In fact, I believe the first female president of the United States will be a Republican” — but gender will not be the deciding factor.
“Hillary Clinton tried to tell everyone that they should vote for her because she's a woman. 'Don't you want to see a woman become president?'” Lara said. “Right now, there are a lot of women who are thinking about voting for president. But the moment you analyze that and use that as a reason why people should vote for you, you've turned a lot of people off.” I think we will lose it.”
Born Lara Lee Yunaska in Wilmington, North Carolina and raised in Wrightsville Beach, she earned a bachelor's degree in communications from North Carolina State University and then attended culinary school.
She is the youngest of President Trump's three children with his first wife, Ivana Trump, after moving to New York and taking a job as a story coordinator and producer on the TV show “Inside Edition.” I met one Eric and worked there from 2012 to 2016.
Before meeting, “I didn't even know there was a person named Eric Trump,” she said of her knowledge of the Trump family.
The couple, who live in Jupiter, Florida, married at Mar-a-Lago in November 2014 and are now parents to two children, Luke, 7, and Carolina, 6.
Lara was with her children at her New York home last July when a would-be assassin opened fire on President Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“About 15 seconds before this happened, my daughter said, “Look, mom, look who's on TV.'' It's my grandpa.'' And when I looked up, I couldn't see him on stage anymore. Eric was in another room and had a different TV on during the meeting, and he started calling me to come over, and I and I both immediately noticed something. I realized what had happened,” she recalled. “I didn't want my kids to see anything scary, so I changed the channel.”
Watching alone with Eric, she said her father-in-law “got up and saw there was blood on him. And I knew something was wrong. We started calling people. To be honest, I was really scared for about 45 minutes to an hour before I heard from him directly.
She and Eric didn't immediately know what to tell their children. However, Luke and Carolina were scheduled to go to summer camp the following Monday, and she was worried that someone else would find out.
“So Sunday night I had to sit them down and tell them that something had happened to their grandpa. “He's okay, but he has a bandage on his ear,” Lara said. Ta. “I knew they would see him next week.” [Republican National] Tournament. But it was really hard to tell my 4-year-old and 6-year-old that someone had tried to hurt their grandpa. ”
She often talks about what her children will hear in the world and at school, including passionate conversations about transgender athletes participating in women's sports and gender-affirming care for minors. I'm thinking.
“As a mother, I can tell you it's something I think about a lot. My kids are very young, but it starts very early…this is how it creeps into the culture,” she said. “It's so scary to think that one day my kids might show up from school and say, 'Actually, I want to take this drug because I think I'm a different gender.' I hope they can someday start a family of their own.” I think that's a really frightening prospect for a lot of parents. [Donald Trump] I care.
“Look, when you're an adult at 18 and have the ability to make your own decisions, I don't think anyone really cares,” she added. “We want a happy society.”
Although Lara currently lives in Florida, she said she also thinks a lot about what's going on in New York City, where she used to live.
“I used to ride the subway all the time, by the way, even when I was in the Secret Service during my father-in-law's first administration. But what's so scary now is that even if you commit a crime, you don't get punished. I think the big problem lies with the people who haven't received it. Americans just want the right thing to happen. They want to feel safe in their communities, in New York City and wherever they live. I want to take my kids there,” Lara said.
“When you go to a beautiful city like San Francisco, you see a homeless crisis, a drug crisis, drug use in the open, people literally defecating on street corners. And instead of helping these people… To, [progressive leaders are] I'm just saying, I allow it. [to commit crime]”
She knows that not everyone will agree with her or her stepfather. After all, she lost friends during her first administration.
“I don't think any of us expected the backlash,” she admitted. “People I had been friends with all of a sudden came out and started saying horrible things about my stepfather and my family. It was very difficult.”
That's why her sister and brother-in-law, Ivanka and Jared Kushner, will not be joining the Trump administration this time, she said.
“Jared and Ivanka were obviously very, very engaged in the first trimester and it was really tough for them. You know, every time we saw them, it was a constant — it was tough for them. It was difficult for their families,” Lara said. “I think they actually did a really great thing. They may never get credit for it, but they definitely deserve it.”
He added that the lessons the Trump family learned from Donald's first presidential term helped them figure out who to trust and who was just kissing.
“You know who is around you for the right reasons and who isn’t. [Now] We are very particular about the people we bring into our Trust Tree. ”
One person who has stepped in is Elon Musk, who seems to have Trump's ear more than anyone else so far.
“Every time I go to Mar-a-Lago, he's there. It's just a little joke and he's in on the joke,” Lara said. “He's great. Who wouldn't want one of the brightest minds of our time in the circle of people who are doing the right thing for this country? Apparently he achieved the unachievable. I think he wants to leave a legacy of being able to do that. And the great news is that we get to benefit from that. So I love that he's a first buddy.”
Lara, who also has her own workout wear line, left her role as a Fox News contributor in December 2022, when President Trump announced his intention to run again, and took on the role of co-chair of the Republican Party.
She left that position in December amid rumors that she would run for Marco Rubio's U.S. Senate seat in Florida, but recently announced she would not pursue it.
“So many factors weighed into my decision to accept the U.S. Senate seat, not least of which is my young family in Florida,” she told the Post, adding that she has the support of the president-elect. revealed that. “He actually tried to really push me in that direction…
“No for now, but not forever,” she added.
