President Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is raising his political profile with plans to travel the country raising money and driving voter turnout for congressional Republicans in the midterm.
Trump Jr. has been dropping hints about his upcoming political activities at least since late winter. This week, he accelerated those plans with the hiring of Republican political adviser Andrew Surabian and began mapping out a strategy for where, and how, to most effectively play a role in defending GOP majorities in Congress.
“He recognizes that he’s a political weapon, and wants to be aimed in the right direction,” a source close to Trump Jr. said on Friday. “He has as much juice with the conservative base, and the larger Republican Party, as anybody right now.”
Republicans are competing to flip a batch of Democratic-held Senate seats in states the president captured in 2016 — and where he has maintained a level of popularity; for example: Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, West Virginia. Trump Jr. is likely to be most visible on the trail there, rallying the faithful in public campaign events.
Polarizing like his father at times, Trump Jr. won’t be much help on the stump in most of the swing House districts that will decide the majority. With some exceptions, voters in these seats aren’t high on the president, never warming to his bombastic style. But Trump Jr. believes he can help Republicans protect the party’s 23-seat House majority by raising crucial resources.
Republican insiders are glad for Trump Jr.’s assistance, saying he is a demonstrated political force for the GOP. He has been a regular on the circuit in special election campaigns, and last week, Trump Jr. dipped into the Senate primary in West Virginia to encourage Republican voters to reject the questionably viable Don Blankenship, who went on to finish a distant third.
“Don Jr.’s efforts played an outsized role in determining the outcome of West Virginia’s contentious primary and Republicans will do better with his voice on the field this fall,” a Republican operative with ties to the party establishment said. “His name not only grabs headlines, it moves voters. And his presence will be a welcome sight to every campaign working hard to beat a Senate Democrat.”
Trump Jr. stays in touch with a wide variety of Republican insiders and supporters of his father. But in bringing in Surabian, a former adviser to Steve Bannon, as his own counselor, Trump Jr. is adding a degree of professionalism to his political activity that could hone his instincts and further improve his effectiveness. Surabian’s hiring was first reported by Axios’ Jonathan Swan.
Surabian worked for Bannon during his stint as the president’s chief strategist, and after he left the White House, until Bannon’s falling out with the Trump family in January.
Expect him to act as a sounding board for Trump Jr., and a clearinghouse, where he can synthesize his views with those of other Republicans in his immediate circle to determine where, and how, he can best be deployed to help his father survive the midterm with his party’s House and Senate majorities intact.
“Getting Surabian was really a smart move,” said Gregg Keller, a Republican operative in Missouri. “Andy knows and understands our current coalition as well as anyone and is a great strategist and communicator. Don Jr. is going to prove to be the secret weapon for Republicans.”
“He views himself as a bulldog for the conservative movement to help drive turnout in 2018,” the source close to Trump Jr. said.
