Donald Trump has taken what appears to be a bizarre swipe at his own brood as he told attendees at an Iowa rally that “some of us have horrible children”.
The former president took to the stage in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday night to help boost Republican candidates in next week’s midterms– and to tease his own 2024 White House run.
During a rally speech intended to show support for Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and US Senator Chuck Grassley, Mr Trump instead began boasting about his own record, pointing to changes to estate tax which lowered the amount paid when the rich pass money onto their children.
At that point, the father-of-five suddenly got sidetracked, launching into a rant about inheritance and whether people should leave their wealth to “horrible children”.
“You pass away, you can – if you like your child. I always say if you don’t like them leave it to charity,” he said.
“Some of us have horrible children.”
He then asked the crowd if they had “horrible children” who they wouldn’t want to pass their “farms” down to.
“Do you have any horrible children?” he asked.
“Does anybody have like a child where you are really not going to leave your farm? Any farmers?
“No you don’t have to. If you don’t like ‘em, then don’t.”
The former president didn’t elaborate on who he was referring to as the “horrible children”.
In recent months, tensions appear to have grown between Mr Trump and his daughter Ivanka Trump.
Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner both worked as senior advisers to Mr Trump during his time in the White House and have both given testimony to the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
In footage played during one of the House committee hearings in June, Ivanka said that she had “accepted” then-Attorney General Bill Barr’s announcement in early December that a Justice Department investigation had uncovered no widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
Her statement was a marked departure from her father’s stance – as he continues to push the debunked claims that the election was “stolen” from him.
Mr Trump hit out at Ivanka over her testimony, by downplaying his daughter’s role in his administration and claiming that she had “long since checked out”.
“Ivanka Trump was not involved in looking at, or studying, Election results. She had long since checked out and was, in my opinion, only trying to be respectful to Bill Barr and his position as Attorney General (he sucked!),” he wrote on his Truth Social platform the day after the hearing.
During Thursday night’s rally in Iowa, Mr Trump continued to peddle the false claims of election fraud as he gave the strongest hint yet that he is planning a 2024 White House run.
The former president told the crowd that he will “very, very, very probably” enter the presidential race.
“And now, in order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again,” he said.
“Get ready that’s all I’m telling you — very soon. Get ready.”
