Sara Jones
The Trumps have long been used to living a lavish lifestyle, even before Donald Trump’s presidency, but could their well of cash be running dry? Without the government services they have grown accustomed to, it looks like they’ve had to scale down, despite previously boasting about their personal wealth. In fact, now that Air Force One is not at their disposal, the former president’s second eldest son, Eric Trump, was spotted traveling commercial and — get this — in coach.
It’s unclear why Eric didn’t borrow his father’s Boeing 757, but eyewitnesses told TMZ that the former first son was with his wife, Lara Trump, and their two children onboard a Delta flight from Palm Beach, Florida to New York City on January 24, 2021. However, not all their luxuries were lost, since Trump extended post-presidency Secret Service protection for all of his children before he left office. Eric and his family were seen being escorted onto the plane by Secret Service agents rather than waiting in the terminal with other passengers.
Upon leaving Palm Beach, where the first family fled after Donald Trump left office and skipped out on President Joe Biden’s inauguration, Eric Trump and his family were just like everyone else on their commercial flight back to New York. Eric was seen doing the usual dad duties and putting their carry-on luggage in the overhead bins. As for Lara Trump, she was seen doing every mom’s unofficial job on a plane: taking her reportedly “well behaved” kids to the bathroom a number of times, sources told TMZ.
Additionally, Eric and Lara were “very friendly” with their fellow passengers and “didn’t seem a bit worried about drawing attention to themselves,” the tabloid reported. In fact, Eric even posed for some selfies while wearing a mask. Despite their travel arrangements, it seems like it is business as usual for the Trumps.
So why is Eric Trump returning to New York? While the Trumps had their empire headquartered in the Big Apple prior to Donald Trump’s presidency, it’s a totally different terrain post-presidency for the entire family.
Following the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, President Trump became the first President to be impeached twice, and many businesses pulled away from the Trump Organization. In fact, New York City nixed their ties by canceling multi-million-dollar contracts. Mayor Bill de Blasio said,
“The contracts make very clear that if the company and the leadership of that company is engaged in illegal activity, we have a right to sever the contract. Inciting an insurrection against the United States government clearly constitutes criminal activity. The City of New York will not be associated with those unforgivable acts in any shape, way or form, and we are immediately taking steps to terminate all Trump Organization contracts.”
Since the 1980s, the Trump Organization has run Central Park’s Wollman and Lasker ice skating rinks, as well as the carousel.
Since Eric works as the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, it’s entirely likely he jetted back to New York to attempt a recovery of these assets. In an interview with the Associated Press shortly after this news broke, Eric was reportedly “unruffled but combative.” He didn’t blame the riots, but instead cited “cancel culture.”
Eric Trump’s flight back to New York City in coach wasn’t the first time the Trump’s have jetted in an economical way. In February 2020, Donald Trump Jr. made much of his experience of flying coach, sharing a selfie on Instagram that a fan took with him on the plane. He captioned it,
“I am not an elitist. […] I like fishing, hunting, red meat, trucks and guns.”
Ivanka Trump has also been spotted flying in a more “average” way. In 2016, when Donald Trump was the president-elect, she and her husband, Jared Kushner, took a JetBlue flight departing from NYC, according to the Palm Beach Post. The flight made headlines because another passenger was accused of harassing her by saying, “Your father is ruining the country.” That individual and their partner were put on a later flight.
#Trump #EricTrump #NYC
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