Donald Trump Hints at Lara Trump Senate Run in Surprise Speech at Mar-a-Lago

Former President Donald Trump’s latest off-the-cuff quip occurred at Mar-a-Lago Friday night, in which he floated the idea his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, is preparing a North Carolina U.S. Senate campaign.

Lara Trump, a senior 2020 campaign adviser for the 45th president’s unsuccessful re-election effort, is seriously considering mounting a campaign to replace retiring North Carolina GOP Senator Richard Burr. Several anonymous sources and close associates have for weeks suggested she is planning to run in her home state, but the 38-year-old has only hinted to supporters and urged them to “stay tuned.”

On Friday, during a surprise remark to attendees of a Big Dog Ranch Rescue fundraiser for pets, the former president appeared to amplify those rumors.

“I want to thank Lara, who’s been so incredible,” the former president said on the stage of the fundraiser Friday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach, Florida. “I don’t know, you’re running for the Senate. I hear she’s going to run for the Senate.”

“I’m with you 100 percent and we’ve had many meetings in the White House and the Oval Office,” Trump said of his daughter-in-law, who is married to Trump’s second-oldest son, Eric.

In order to run, however, the Wilmington, North Carolina, native would have to move because she’s not currently a resident in the state.

Speaking with Fox News’ Sean Hannity last week, Lara Trump said she’s “absolutely” considering a political campaign.

“Look, I’ve taken it very seriously and I have no decision to announce live here on Sean Hannity tonight. But I will tell you, stay tuned, because it is certainly something that I would be honored to do. So, I am keeping it open. Absolutely,” the 2020 Trump aide said.

Lara Trump is not the only member of the former president’s family to be considered for political office runs in the coming years. Her brother-in-law, Donald Trump Jr., was reportedly considering a New York congressional campaign back in 2019. Former Congressman Peter King, a Republican who represented New York’s 2nd congressional district, suggested any member of the Trump family could win in that district.

South Carolina GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of the former president, made comments on February 14 in which he said “she represents the future of the Republican Party…My dear friend Richard Burr, who I like and have been friends to a long time, just made Lara Trump almost the certain nominee for the Senate seat in North Carolina to replace him if she runs.”

Meanwhile, a Huffington Post report published Friday alleged that the Big Dog Ranch Rescue charity has spent upwards of $1.9 million at Trump properties in the past few years, including a massive drop of $250,000 into the former president’s “pocket.”

Newsweek reached out to representatives for Trump as well as the Big Dog Rach Rescue group Saturday morning.

President Donald Trump, with daughter-in-law Lara Trump, arrives at Wilmington International Airport in Wilmington, North Carolina on September 2, 2020. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images