The US presidential election is just over a month away. It is panning out to be one of the most hotly contested ballots in recent history. The incumbent, Donald Trump, is hoping to secure a second term in office, while his main opponent, the Democrat Joe Biden, has surged ahead in national opinion polls.
Toiling away in the Republican camp are many of the people closest to Trump: the First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS), and his children Ivanka Trump, Don Trump Jr, and the youngest out of the trio, Eric Trump all make up part of the Trump campaign.
Eric Trump is perhaps the quietest out of the trio of eldest children.
The 36-year-old regularly appears on Fox News to fight his father’s cause, having made several controversial claims this year about the coronavirus.
In May, he suggested the pandemic will “magically all of a sudden go away and disappear” adding that he believed the Democrats were using coronavirus as a way to stop his father from being reelected.
Eric Trump: The 36-year-old couldn’t pursue his own dreams according to a school friend (Image: GETTY)
Donald Trump: The incumbent is hoping to secure a second term in office this November (Image: GETTY)
Little is known about Eric, but in 2017, City & State New York magazine spoke to him in a rare interview, gleaning quirks about his and his family’s life.
One heartbreaking passage included an admission from a former classmate, Danielle Arnold, over how Eric, growing up, was never able to pursue his own dreams – one of them being his passion for woodwork.
She said: “I remember feeling kind of sad that he really can’t pursue his own dreams. There’s no reality in which he would become a woodworker.
“I wonder – because I care about him, obviously – who would he be if he wasn’t in this family?
JUST IN: Eric Trump ‘wrestled to ground’ when bullied about mother’s past
Trump campaign: Eric helps rally the Trump camp during its political campaigns (Image: GETTY)
“Would he choose to be doing what he’s doing?”
Eric told the publication that he loved “building” and that he was “in woodshed any free minute that I had – it’s still my passion in the world”.
He reportedly spent hours in the woodshop carving, shaving, sanding and finishing his projects with “painstaking detail”.
The publication frames Eric’s time at the private fee-paying Hill School as one fraught with isolation and bullying.
DON’T MISS
Why Eric Trump earned brutal ‘biggest mooch’ nickname’ [REPORT]
Eric Trump humiliation: Embarrassing nickname Trump’s son has carried [INSIGHT]
Melania Trump heartbreak: Message Trump gave FLOTUS revealed [ANALYSIS]
To find out details of coronavirus in your area, please fill in your postcode below.
US politics: Eric and his brother Don Jr help to run their father’s business (Image: GETTY)
Trump children: The three eldest Trump children help to garner the support of US voters (Image: GETTY)
One anecdote told of how Eric was bullied by his classmates when they found out about his mother’s former modelling work.
The publication explained: “The dormitories were a steam valve of pent-up teenage angst.
“Existence was an endless stream of pranks, taunts and foul language.
“Classmates tormented Eric by downloading pictures of his famous mother and sister, then posting doctored photos of them around the dorm or on his computer background. Eric would respond by tackling the giggling offenders and wrestling matches would ensue.
Trump family tree: Trump has had children by all of his three marriages (Image: Express Newspapers )
“This was the jungle law of boarding school.
“Telling lewd jokes about someone’s sister was expected, but so was the requisite beatdown.
“However, Eric says he gave as good as he got, being taller and, perhaps, particularly well-motivated.”
Eric, like most of the Trump children, has made his fortune working for his father’s real estate company.
He also appeared on 23 episodes of “The Apprentice” US as a boardroom judge.
Both Eric and Don Jr sit as executive vice president for the Trump Organisation.
Ivanka Trump: Trump’s eldest daughter has become his right-hand woman in his political endeavours (Image: GETTY)
Meanwhile, Ivanka, the 38-year-old, has quickly become Trump’s right-hand woman.
According to the White House website, “she focuses on the education and economic empowerment of women and their families as well as job creation and economic growth through workforce development, skills training and entrepreneurship”.
Before taking on the role, she worked for the family real estate business along with her brothers.