THEN AND NOW: How the Trump family changed between the 2020 and 2024 elections
Talia Lakritz  Â
- Donald Trump lost his 2020 reelection bid and is running again as the Republican nominee in 2024.
- Trump's running mate in 2020 was his vice president, Mike Pence. In 2024, it's JD Vance.
Donald Trump lost his presidential reelection campaign in 2020, but he and his family have remained powerful political figures.
Trump is the Republican nominee once again in the 2024 presidential election, but a few things are different this time around. In May, he was found guilty on all 34 counts in his hush-money trial involving a $130,000 payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels. Trump also survived an assassination attempt in July and chose a new running mate.
Some Trump family members have remained active in his campaign, while others have chosen to step back from politics.
Here's a look at how Trump and his family members have changed since the last election.
In 2020, Donald Trump lost his reelection campaign to Joe Biden and refused to accept the results.
In the early hours of the morning after election night in 2020, Trump prematurely declared himself the winner. Joe Biden was declared the winner days later.
Trump went on to call the 2020 election "rigged" and said in 2023 that anyone who accepts the results is "very stupid" despite his campaign's investigations finding no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Vice President Mike Pence was Trump's running mate in 2020. Pence said that their relationship "broke down" after Trump falsely claimed that Pence could overturn the 2020 election. After Pence refused and certified the results, some Trump supporters chanted "Hang Mike Pence" during the January 6 insurrection.
Hours before President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021, Trump and his family flew to Florida, where he currently resides at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach.
Trump, who is running against Kamala Harris in 2024, has since become a convicted felon, survived an assassination attempt, and chosen a new running mate.
Trump announced his 2024 presidential campaign in 2022 and formally accepted the nomination at the 2024 Republican National Convention in July. He replaced Pence with Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate. Pence did not endorse Trump in 2024.
He continues to hold rallies and refuse to accept the result of the 2020 election in the midst of several investigations and lawsuits.
Among them, in 2022, FBI agents executed a search warrant on Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, prompting a furious reaction from Trump and his allies. The search appeared to be over material that Trump brought back to Florida after leaving the White House, spurring a federal investigation linked to the Presidential Records Act.
In 2023, Justice Department prosecutors charged Trump with 37 criminal counts, alleging he withheld classified records from the government after leaving office and attempted to obstruct their return. But in July, a judge dismissed the case, ruling that appointing Jack Smith as special counsel to prosecute the case was unconstitutional. Smith has appealed.
Separately, the New York attorney general investigated the Trump Organization's financial dealings, and court filings detailed the AG office's accusations against the company, including improperly inflated property values. In February, after a three-month trial, a judge ordered Trump to pay $355 million in penalties in the civil fraud case. He has appealed.
In 2023, Trump was indicted and charged with 34 felony counts for first-degree falsifying business records. Trump denied all wrongdoing, pleading not guilty and accusing the probes of being politically motivated. It went to trial in April, and Trump was found guilty on all counts in the first-ever criminal trial of a former American president. Trump maintained that he is a "very innocent man."
In 2023, as part of the DOJ's investigation into the events before the January 6 Capitol riot, Trump was indicted for a third time and charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction, and conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one's vote counted. Following the Supreme Court's 2024 opinion that presidents hold some immunity from criminal prosecution, a new, revised indictment was filed in August. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
He has vowed to return to the White House in 2024, saying at a January 2022 rally in Texas that he would consider pardons for rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6 if elected.
In July, Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, that killed one audience member and wounded two.
In 2020, Melania Trump spoke at the Republican National Convention and made a few campaign appearances.
During the 2020 campaign, Melania Trump made appearances at rallies in Tampa, Miami, and Orlando.
In her 2020 convention speech, Melania Trump spoke about immigrating to America from Slovenia, touted her "Be Best" initiative promoting children's well-being, and praised her husband's candor.
"We all know Donald Trump makes no secrets about how he feels about things," she said. "Total honesty is what we as citizens deserve from our president, whether you like it or not, you always know what he is thinking. And that is because he is an authentic person who loves this country and its people and wants to continue to make it better. Donald wants to keep your family safe, he wants to help your family succeed. He wants nothing more than for this country to prosper and he doesn't waste time playing politics."
She has remained largely absent from the 2024 campaign trail and only attended the final night of the Republican National Convention.
Her rare public appearances since leaving the White House have included attending Rosalynn Carter's funeral alongside other first ladies in November 2023. The following month, she welcomed new US citizens at a naturalization ceremony at the National Archives in Washington, DC.
The New York Times reported she privately supported Trump's reelection campaign despite her absence on the campaign trail and at Trump's court appearances.
In April, she was reportedly the guest of honor at a fundraising event at Mar-a-Lago for the conservative LGBTQ+ organization Log Cabin Republicans. During a speech, she detailed the campaign's plans to reach out to conservative gay and lesbian voters for their support, ABC News reported.
Melania skipped most of the 2024 Republican National Convention, only attending Trump's speech on the final night. She did not deliver a speech as she had in 2020.
On October 1, she published her memoir, "Melania," which became an Amazon bestseller.
Donald Trump Jr. was active in Trump's 2020 campaign.
As Trump's oldest son, Trump Jr. serves as executive vice president of the Trump Organization and has been instrumental in his father's presidential campaigns.
A frequent speaker at rallies and on cable news, he referred to Biden in his 2020 convention speech as "the Loch Ness Monster of the Swamp" and said that Democrats were "attacking the very principles on which our Nation was founded."
He began dating former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle in 2018.
He remains a prominent member of Trump's 2024 campaign alongside Guilfoyle.
As part of the New York civil fraud case against the Trump Organization, which was accused of inflating its wealth on financial statements, a judge ordered Trump Jr. to pay $4 million in penalties in February. He was also banned from "serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York" for two years. He later appealed.
In 2021, Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle sold their house in the Hamptons for $8 million and purchased a $9.7 million home in the gated Admirals Cove neighborhood of Jupiter, Florida, about 20 minutes from Mar-a-Lago.
In 2022, Guilfoyle posted a photo with Trump Jr. where she appeared to be wearing a diamond ring on her left ring finger. An unnamed source told The Daily Mail that the pair quietly got engaged on New Year's Eve in 2020 and had been keeping it under wraps since then. On Valentine's Day in February 2022, Guilfoyle posted a series of Instagram photos with Trump Jr., calling him "my fiancé."
Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle continue to make appearances at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the Turning Point Action USA Conference, and Trump rallies.
Both spoke in support of Trump at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
In 2020, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, were front and center in Trump's administration and campaign.
Both Ivanka and Jared Kushner served as senior advisors in the Trump White House. Kushner helped broker the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
Ivanka spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
"Dad, people attack you for being unconventional, but I love you for being real, and I respect you for being effective," she said in her speech, adding, "Washington has not changed Donald Trump. Donald Trump has changed Washington."
She has since stepped back from politics and opted not to participate in her father's 2024 campaign.
Ivanka and Kushner reportedly bought a $32 million empty lot in Indian Creek Village, Florida, known as Miami's "Billionaire Bunker," in December 2020. They then signed a lease for a "large, unfurnished unit" in the Arte Surfside luxury condo building in Surfside, Florida. They also added a $24 million mansion in Indian Creek Village to their Florida real-estate profile in 2021, TheRealDeal reported.
Ivanka and Kushner visited Israel in 2021 to launch the Abraham Accords Caucus in the hope of "formulating future agreements with other countries," according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In Israel, they met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and attended an event at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem with former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Ivanka cooperated with the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, appearing for eight hours of questioning in 2022.
Jared also released a memoir, "Breaking History," detailing his time as a presidential advisor.
When Trump announced his 2024 campaign, Ivanka did not attend the kickoff event, saying in a statement that she was stepping back from politics. She and Kushner made their only appearance at the 2024 Republican National Convention on its final night, and neither spoke at the event.
Instead, in the years since her father left the White House, she has largely returned to her life as a socialite.
Eric Trump and his wife, Lara Trump, were also involved in Trump's 2020 presidential run.
Eric and Lara both spoke at campaign events, made Fox News appearances, and addressed the 2020 Republican National Convention.
"I miss working alongside you every day but I'm damn proud to be on the front lines of this fight," Eric said in his convention speech. "I am proud of what you are doing for this country. I am proud to show my children what their grandfather is fighting for."
Eric still serves as vice president of the Trump Organization, and Lara cochairs the Republican National Committee.
Eric was subpoenaed in the Trump Organization investigation in late 2020, but he invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 500 times when they were deposed in 2020. In 2023, he testified that he relied on accountants to prepare proper documents at the company, but, like his brother, he was ultimately ordered to pay $4 million in penalties. He has also appealed.
Eric makes regular appearances on Fox News criticizing President Joe Biden's leadership.
In 2021, he and Lara bought a $3.2 million estate in Jupiter, Florida, inside the Trump National Golf Club gated community.
In 2024, Lara was voted cochair of the Republican National Committee after receiving Trump's endorsement.
Eric was with Trump in the New York City courtroom when he was found guilty in the Stormy Daniels hush-money trial in May. Eric and Lara both spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
In 2020, Tiffany Trump graduated from law school and announced her engagement to Michael Boulos.
Tiffany is the only daughter from Trump's second marriage to model and television personality Marla Maples. She graduated from Georgetown University's law school in 2020.
Tiffany rarely appeared on the 2020 campaign trail, but she attended the final presidential debate and gave a speech at the Republican National Convention.
The day before Trump left office, she announced her engagement to Michael Boulos, heir to the Nigerian company Boulos Enterprises. The two reportedly met at Lindsay Lohan's beach club in Mykonos, Greece, in 2018 and began dating shortly afterwards.
Tiffany and Boulos are now expecting their first child, which Trump announced during a 2024 campaign stop in Michigan with Boulos' father.
Tiffany and Boulos married at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club on November 12, 2022.
The couple attended parts of Trump's hush-money trial in New York City and the 2024 Republican National Convention, though Tiffany didn't speak as she had in 2020.
During a campaign stop in Michigan in October, Trump acknowledged the presence of Boulos' father, businessman Massad Boulos, and announced Tiffany's pregnancy.
"He happens to be the father of Tiffany's husband Michael, who's a very exceptional young guy, and she's an exceptional young woman," Trump said. "And she's going to have a baby, so that's nice."
Trump's youngest child, Barron Trump, was the first boy to live in the White House since John F. Kennedy Jr.
In 2017, Barron took his classmates to meet his dad at the White House. He appeared alongside other Trump family members at the Republican National Convention but remained largely out of the public eye since he was 14 years old at the time.
Barron graduated from high school in May and started attending New York University in September.
Barron, who Trump says is now 6 feet 7 inches tall, graduated from high school at Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida, in May. Trump was granted a break from his hush-money trial to attend his son's graduation.
In September, Barron began classes at New York University's Stern School of Business. He lives off-campus at Trump Tower.
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