Eric Trump has taken the lead as the most self-aware Trump. This is not saying much. During an interview with Forbes magazine conducted in February but posted on Tuesday, the youngest Trump (of the big three) touched on the touchy subject of nepotism in the Trump family White House. Eric did not explicitly acknowledge that everything he has in life is because of who is father is, but he did give a nod to the fact that that’s a thought someone has possibly once had. And, believe it or not, that’s progress.



From Forbes:

“Nepotism is kind of a factor of life,” said Eric Trump, sitting in an office on the 25th floor of his father’s famous Trump Tower, just down the hall from his brother Don Jr. “We might be here because of nepotism, but we’re not still here because of nepotism. You know, if we didn’t do a good job, if we weren’t competent, believe me, we wouldn’t be in this spot.”

His father would make sure of it, Eric Trump said. “He’s a guy, no matter where it is, he expects people to perform. And if they’re not performing, he kind of encourages them to go on their way. You know the one thing, Don, Ivanka and I never let him down really in any factor of life. And I think it’s one of the reasons that we’re as innately close as we are.”

… Eric Trump said his father would not have trusted him and Don Jr. to take over the reins of the family company until recently. “I don’t know if he could have done the presidential thing four years ago,” Eric Trump said. “Certainly eight years ago, he couldn’t have. I think we probably would have been too big of question marks for him. I think in so many of the deals that we’ve done, whether it be kind of all of the golf courses or the wineries or this or that — and the operations of them and hiring for them, the building of these buildings, the financing of these buildings and everything else that we do on a daily basis, I think hopefully we earned our stripes. And I think that’s ultimately why we’re in the seat we’re in.”

“Don, Ivanka and I never let [Trump] down really in any factor of life. And I think it’s one of the reasons that we’re as innately close as we are.”

All those *factors* of life. Seems like nepotism might not be worth it.