Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘Don Jr is on coke’: Trump’s son mocks accusations of drug use over his ‘impassioned’ speeches

Former president’s eldest son feels that people should focus on Hunter Biden instead of him

Abe Asher
Tuesday 14 February 2023 16:14 EST
Comments
Donald Trump Jr blasts Republicans who ‘lose gracefully'

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Donald Trump Jr has hit out at suggestions that he uses drugs, attacking Hunter Biden and claiming people mistake his passion for evidence of substance use.

Mr Trump made his comments on the Triggered podcast, where he appeared in conversation with the former chief of staff to the to the Acting Secretary of Defense, Kash Patel.

“I got thrown into politics in my late 30s and all of the sudden it’s like, ‘Hey, I just actually believe this stuff,’” Mr Trump said. “I will more than happily fight for it. There’s a consequence to that, I will say. It’d have been a lot easier to shut the hell up and be a real estate developer from New York and not get into that. But I actually do believe in this stuff, I want to leave my kids a country they will recognise. So it’s so important to be in that fight.”

Mr Trump then described what his political engagement has cost him. He also made a slew of unsubstantiated allegations about Hunter Biden, who has been a target of scrutiny in conservative media since before his father was elected president.

“I look at what they called me: a traitor,” Mr Trump said. “Adam Schiff wanted to try me for treason, a crime punishable by death, but Hunter Biden can take a billion from China, work for Ukraine oligarchs, work for Russian oligarchs, money launder, be paid in diamonds off the books, not declare anything in taxes, drop guns in dumpsters across from high schools, and it’s like, ‘He’s an upstanding human being. And then I give an impassioned speech, and it’s ‘Don Jr is on coke.’”

Mr Trump has made a name for himself politically as an outspoken supporter of his father, the twice-impeached former President Donald Trump. He has a long history of spreading conspiracy theories and making hateful remarks about immigrants and refugees, and was reportedly an advocate of efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election that Mr Biden won.

The senior Mr Trump is in the midst of his third campaign for the White House, and on Tuesday got a new competitior for the Republican nomination — his former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, who in her announcement video argued that the country needs a “new generation of leadership.”

Ms Haley is the first declared challenger to Mr Trump, though others — including Gov Ron DeSantis of Florida — are expected to follow with announcements of their own in the coming weeks and months.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in