Lara Trump has sparked anger and concern after posting a video of her five-year-old son driving his toy car outside in the midst of heavy rain from Hurricane Ian.
The 39-year-old TV producer, who lives in Florida with her husband Eric Trump, shared the video to her Instagram on Wednesday of the couple’s son Eric Luke Trump. Trump and her spouse also share three-year-old daughter Carolina Dorothy Trump.
In the video, Trump’s son, who goes by the name Luke, could be seen driving his toy car in the middle of the street as rain from the Category four storm poured down. As he steered the vehicle, he held one hand over his eyes in an effort to shield his face from the rain.
While Trump filmed the video, she offered her son, who appeared distraught, words of encouragement, as she could be heard telling him: “Oh my God, Luke. It’s so much rain. Go, you can do it, let’s go.”
She concluded the video by documenting the torrential rain that she and her son were making their way through. In the caption of the post, Trump made a joke about what her son learned from his drive through the hurricane.
“Thought we had a clear window, turns out we did some character building instead…Stay safe everyone!” she wrote.
On social media, the video has sparked backlash among viewers, with many criticising Trump for allowing her child outside during the storm.
“I don’t know what’s worse - that Lara Trump did this to her child, or that she filmed it and then posted it as some sort of brag,” one person wrote.
“We don’t know who needs to hear this, but it’s a terrible idea for an adult to be out during this powerful storm, let alone any small children,” another critic wrote. “On second thought, Lara Trump needs to hear this.”
A third person asked: “Would you publicly post a video exploiting and humiliating your very young child for clicks? Because it sure looks like Lara Trump did.”
Others claimed that it looked like the five year old was crying in the video, with many condemning Trump for calling the incident a “character-building” experience.
“Even if Lara Trump and her son were already outside when it started raining, she still filmed the poor boy while he was crying. Then posted the video on social media for millions to see. That is just cruel parenting,” one person tweeted.
Hurricane Ian reached southwest Florida at 3.05pm ET on Wednesday with winds up to 155mph, making it a Category four storm. As officials urged residents to shelter in place, destructive waves slammed into the southwest coast from Englewood to Bonita Beach. A total of eight million people were at the centre of the hurricane this morning.
