You’re likable enough, Don. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

With all the reporting on his meeting with Kremlin-connected Russians at Trump Tower, Donald Trump Jr. has taken a beating in the press, but on Sunday night he finally drew some Ivanka-esque coverage from the mainstream press. The Washington Post reported on Sunday that while he’s possibly facing trouble from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the good news is that Trump Jr. has become a popular speaker and fundraiser on the campaign trail.

In the opening anecdote, his dad even offers him some praise:

President Trump was watching Fox News Channel with aides in his private dining room off the Oval Office recently when Donald Trump Jr. flashed across the giant flat screen.

“Don’s gotten really good,” Trump said, according to someone who was present. “My people love him.”

The report goes on to explain why this is so significant. Trump Jr. has had a complicated relationship with his father, and the Trump name, throughout his life. Actually, it dates back to before he was born. In her 2017 memoir, his mother, Ivana Trump, said that when she suggested naming the boy after his father, the future president said, “You can’t do that! What if he’s a loser?”

The president has long harbored these doubts about whether his son can live up to his expectations, according to the Post, and sources say the father and son still speak infrequently. But Trump did give the paper a statement about his boy.

“Don has proven to be a very good public speaker and was a very likable presence on the campaign trail,” Trump said in the statement to The Post. “People like when he represents me in front of groups of people. I always get a favorable response . . . Don likes and enjoys politics, but he likes seeing great results for the American people even better, and that is why he is involved. He truly believes that I am making America great again and loves being a part of it.”

Note that there was a whole sentence all about Don Jr. before his dad started talking about himself. Their relationship is really progressing!