November 14, 2016
By Elise Viebeck and Lisa Rein
There’s been a lot of talk (click here) since Friday about President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to give his three eldest children formal positions on his transition team.
Readers have wondered: Is the decision legal? Is it ethical? Does it signal Trump’s intention to involve his children in his administration? And what does it mean that Trump’s children have transition roles just as they are poised to take over the family business?...
To begin I like Donald Trump's family. I think they are well meaning in their support of their father. I find the tight loving circle his children bring to his life a reassurance to a man that has interests all over the world. Life can become very diffuse in such a life. That hasn't happened with Donald Trump and he should be congratulated for the father he is to his children.
If his children are being religated to a life inside an executive branch of the USA government, they should do so with caution. Donald Trump will not want to become insulated from the reality of many staffers and QUALIFIED cabinet members. There is a pitfall waiting for the Trump family if they are too protective of their father and too involved in decision making. What if Trump Child A makes a huge error in decision advocacy. It is easy to do at the top of the USA government if one is not within their expertise and well informed. Such an error would seriously divide the family and cause conflict with any re-election bid. The Trump family is not the Clinton family. They just aren't. No, apologies, just the way it is. Waging war from Trump Tower with grounds keepers at their golf courses is not the same as negotiating agreements and policy from the Oval Office.
I can understand completely if Donald Trump's children feel protective of their father. They have worked intricately in the family business for a long time. That relationship is difficult to place at a distance at such a rapid and extreme time of change in the family dynamics.
I strongly suggest, if the Trump Adult Children want a life in the government to consider applying for one and/or becoming a candidate for office themselves. It is important Donald Trump trust qualified strangers. He needs those strangers. The country is going to need those individuals to do the best job they can in helping to lead this land.
I am sure the country will come to embrace Barron Trump no differently than the Obama daughters. I would expect the country to come to be admiring of the Trump Adult Children and their lives of accomplishment. I am sure the new First Lady will lead a valiant purpose in this country no different than any other First Lady that contributes their own expertise to enhance the image of the country.
But, as to the roles the Trump Adult Children will pay, I sincerely believe they will find themselves just as challenged within the Trump Organization as in Washington, DC. They have to let their father trust others they have never met and may never meet. It is the way the USA operates.
