Lara Trump, wife of Eric Trump and daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump, has been touting the fundraising efforts of the Republican National Committee (RNC) since she became co-chair with Michael Whatley, the former North Carolina RNC Chair, in March.
Whatley has praised Lara Trump for being “a force of nature” and for “being great on-air.” Lara Trump has promised, to the concern of some down-ballot Republicans, that “Every single penny will go to the No. 1 and the only job of the RNC — that is [to] elect Donald J. Trump as president of the United States.”
Eric Trump (who was ordered to pay $4 million in the civil fraud case) is praising his wife for her new job. Last week the former President’s son amplified a ‘Johnny MAGA’ post which features a clip from the 1983 movie Scarface, in which the protagonist (Al Pacino as Tony Montana), a Cuban refugee who becomes a highly successful cocaine dealer in Miami, celebrates all the money he’s collected from selling highly addictive drugs.
The scene features stacks of cash so voluminous they are being counted and sorted by machines. Johnny MAGA captioned it: “The RNC when Lara Trump took over.” Eric Trump replied with three fist bump emojis.
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) April 3, 2024
MAGA commenters are cheering the analogy. Detractors in the comments are pointing out that Eric Trump’s likening of his wife Lara to a criminal migrant who illegally brings drugs over the border — and contributes to an American scourge — displays a lack of self-awareness.
It’s especially cringe-y, some assert, as Republicans nationwide are campaigning hard on shutting down the border, where ostensibly one of the chief concerns is stopping migrants from bringing illegal drugs over the border to contribute to an American scourge. (This time the drug is fentanyl, not cocaine.)
Note: As U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) remark in their introduction to the Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act:
“As the opioid epidemic continues to ravage American communities and families, it is imperative to stop the flow of fentanyl over the southwest border and support law enforcement officers working tirelessly to secure the border. Most of the fentanyl coming into the U.S. is trafficked into the country through official land border crossings on the southwest border by transnational criminal organizations.”