One may say that Donald Trump Jr. is a spitting image of his father, but the reality is that he and Donald Trump haven’t always been this way. In 2006, Donny Deutsch of CNBC’s The Big Idea interviewed Donald Trump Jr. During the segment, in an odd anecdote about his youth, Donald Jr. revealed the childhood bond he shared with his father and what led the former President to call his son a ‘loser.’
As reported by Mother Jones , Don Jr. shared, “Seven o’clock in the morning, I’m going to school—hugs, kisses, and he [Donald] used to say a couple of things. ‘No smoking , no drinking, no drugs.’ I think a great lesson for any kid. But then he followed up with, ‘Don’t. Trust. Anyone. Ever.’ And, you know, he’d follow it up two seconds later with, ‘So, do you trust me? He’d say, ‘What did I just—’ You know, he thought I was a total failure. He goes, ‘My son’s a loser, I guess.’”
donald trump didn’t want his firstborn son named after him for fear that he’d be a “loser”. He talked about baby Tiffany’s future boobs and even said he would date Ivanka. But do go on about Joe Biden being a “bad father” for telling his struggling son he loved him, won’t you.
— Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) October 11, 2022
The younger Trump explained, “Because I couldn’t even understand what he meant at the time. I mean, it’s not something you tell a four-year-old, right? But it really means something to him.” Ivana Trump also shared that Donald Sr. hated the idea of naming his first kid after him. It was allegedly a source of great anxiety for the ex-president. In her memoir Raising Trump , published in 2017, she said she asked her husband about his hesitations, “I said, ‘Why not?’ He said, ‘How about if he’s a loser?'” ABC News reported.
The bond between the ex-president and his firstborn was further illuminated in 2016 by a former college roommate of Donald Jr. In a Facebook post , Scott Melker laid out his reasons for believing Donald Sr. was not qualified to hold the White House office. He shared insights into Donald Jr.’s alleged heavy drinking during his time at the University of Pennsylvania.
Melker penned, “I was hanging out in a freshman dorm with some friends, next door to Donald Jr.’s room. I walked out of the room to find Donald Sr. at his son’s door, there to pick him up for a baseball game. Quite a few students were standing around watching, trying to catch a glimpse of the famed real estate magnate. Donald Jr. opened the door, wearing a Yankee jersey. Without saying a word, his father slapped him across the face, knocking him to the floor in front of all of his classmates. He simply said ‘Put on a suit and meet me outside,’ and closed the door.”
Melker admitted that thereafter, he ‘always felt bad’ for Don Jr. In light of this, Melker opined, “It is clear to me that Donald Trump lacks the temperament and basic social decency to run our country.” The former college acquaintance also claimed that Donald Jr. would often wet the bed when intoxicated, which led to him being dubbed as ‘Diaper Don.’