Former Republican President Donald Trump faced doubts about his credibility to lead the Oval Office when he was elected in the 2016 presidential election.
Much of what Democrats feared based on the business mogul's inexperience in political affairs was almost immediately confirmed, but one individual close to Trump's inner circle also had reservations about his potential to lead the country.
That person was none other than his third child, Eric Trump.
As a guest on Jay Cutler's Uncut podcast, Eric Trump admitted his family wasn't smart enough to be capable of committing the crimes his critics accused his father of throughout his presidency.
You can see Eric Trump's self-deprecating comments here:
Smart and easily manipulated by a foreign power don't often go together though, which several people pointed out.
No, perhaps not, but you were stupid enough to be easily used by Russia to undermine our country. The arrogance of ignorance precedes the fall:\n\n\u2018We weren't smart enough to collude with Russia': Eric Trump offers novel defense of his father's campaignhttps://www.rawstory.com/eric-trump-russia/\u00a0\u2026— Stephen pike (@Stephen pike) 1639534217
On the 2016 campaign trail, Eric said the family had "minimal knowledge of American politics" and were worried about how they were going to get enough votes to beat their more experienced candidates.
There was one particular topic Eric felt strongly about.
"We weren't smart enough to collude with Russia," said Eric.
"We didn't know what the hell we were doing. We didn't know what a delegate was."
It didn't take long for Twitter to share their hot take.
Just greedy enough.— Pat Blake (@Pat Blake) 1639534775
Maybe not smart enough to collude with Russia but, stupid enough to try!\n\nEric Trump says 'we weren't smart enough to collude with Russia' in interview with former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler https://news.yahoo.com/eric-trump-says-werent-smart-221042150.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr\u00a0\u2026 via @Yahoo— aLadyButterfly (@aLadyButterfly) 1639527879
I heard that Eric was walking down the street and saw some dog poop. He wasn\u2019t sure what it was and didn\u2019t want to get it on his shoe so he tasted it.— kdunnez (@kdunnez) 1639575377
Ignorance is not an excuse\nThere's an important legal principle that says \u201cignorance of the law is no excuse.\u201d You can't defend your actions by arguing you didn't know they were illegal, even if you honestly did not realize you were breaking the law.— jwaz (@jwaz) 1639613594
So, people that still have no idea what they were doing after four years is whom half the country thinks should run the country?— Sanchez (@Sanchez) 1639679452
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) alleged the Trumps conspired with the Russian government and WikiLeaks to interfere with the 2016 election.
Despite Special Counsel Robert Mueller uncovering extensive contacts between the Trump campaign and individuals linked to the Russian government, the lawsuit was dropped in 2019 due to Mueller's inability to prosecute the sitting President and Congress' failure to take action beyond impeaching Trump.
The Trump run Justice Department also failed to seek charges against the Trump family. Numerous others were indicted and some convicted. Trump later pardoned many of them.
In his interview with Cutler, Eric additionally recalled being politically inexperienced and naive while at the Iowa caucuses.
He chuckled:
"Jay, I remember walking up to a caucus in Iowa saying, you know, I looked at this young staffer and I go, 'Hey, do you know what a caucus is?'"
Pretty sure he was the only one that didn't understand lmfao— Horsey Jones (@Horsey Jones) 1639613301
We're not smart, I promise. Right, Dad?pic.twitter.com/9eAwrOEMcT— Owlzinthehouz (@Owlzinthehouz) 1639644995
BULLSH*T!!!!\nI\u2019m not buying FOR ONE SECOND the \u201cI\u2019m too stupid\u201d defense!!!!— HRCFanGal (@HRCFanGal) 1639572213
Eric Trump currently serves as Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization.
His wife Lara, who in 2022 considered running for a Senate seat in North Carolina but ultimately changed her mind, is a frequent Fox News contributor.
@katherineschwarzenegger/Instagram
@weeneot/Instagram
@tiffany_krystle/Instagram
@aungiec/Instagram
strawbrerryskullskill/Reddit
@roostergemini/Instagram
@hellolilly28/Instagram
@coco.f2/Instagram
@kreedplus3/Instagram
@johnnylowe/Instagram
@mattlowe/Instagram
@tiffanymataras/Instagram
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
@artcandee/Bluesky