ICYMI: Two of Donald Trump's Adult Children Didn't Vote for Him in 2016 Primary
Former President Donald Trump easily captured the Republican Party’s nomination for president in 2016.
But that accomplishment came without the votes of two of his oldest children.
Neither Eric nor Ivanka Trump voted for their father in the New York primary in April of that year; however, it wasn’t because either was opposed to his presidential bid.
In fact, the voting news about Eric and Ivanka is not new. But since the fact is generating headlines again, the reason is worth pointing out.
The List on Thursday published a story saying that the country’s 45th president was elected without the support of his second- and third-born children.
In a story headlined “Why Two Of Donald Trump’s Kids Didn’t Vote For Him In The 2016 Primaries,” the outlet reported:
“Donald’s family, including his wife, Melania Trump, and his five children, campaigned vigorously for the controversial politician both during his initial run and for Donald’s 2020 re-election bid.
“As strongly as they supported him, however, two of Donald’s children never actually voted for him in the 2016 primaries.”
But the outlet went on to note that Ivanka and Eric Trump both made their reasons for not voting in the April 19 primary clear seven years ago: Neither registered in time to vote for any candidate, because at that point both were registered as independents.
On April 4, 2016, Yahoo News covered the story and noted that Eric and Ivanka couldn’t vote for their father because they were unaware of the rules in New York as it related to the state’s GOP primary.
As a result of their registration error, neither could vote, although Donald Trump Jr. was a member of the party and was eligible to vote for his father.
Yahoo noted that candidate Trump’s two younger children, Tiffany and Barron, were less active in his campaign than his older three children with the late Ivana Trump.
It is unclear how Tiffany voted while Barron was only 10 years old at the time.
Yahoo added:
“New York State Board of Elections records show that both Trump and his wife, Melania, are members of the Republican Party. But Trump has a rather unusual relationship with the Republican Party, and has sometimes been at odds with the Republican National Committee.”
Then-candidate Trump actually laughed off the matter at the time.
“They had a long time to register and they were, you know, unaware of the rules, and they didn’t, they didn’t register in time. So they feel very, very guilty. They feel very guilty, but it’s fine, I understand that,” Trump said of Eric and Ivanka, according to Politico.
He added, “I think they have to register a year in advance, and they didn’t. So Eric and Ivanka, I guess, won’t be voting.”
It made no difference in the end, as Trump carried New York in the primary with more than 60 percent of the vote and was elected president less than seven months later.
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