(NewsNation) — Donald Trump launched his 2024 presidential bid Tuesday evening at Mar-a-Lago. Many news outlets have criticized the “low energy” announcement and pointed out that Trump’s two oldest children, Don Jr. and Ivanka, were not present for their father’s big night.
Both Don Jr. and Ivanka have shown their support for the former president in his past campaign efforts.
Don Jr. says he missed the announcement because he was on a fishing trip and could not find a flight back due to weather. But over the weekend, he attended his younger sister Tiffany’s wedding at Mar-a-Lago and the special announcement had already been publicized.
“Is he that desperate to go for just a quick little hunting trip that he missed his father announcing a run for president?” NewsNation host Dan Abrams questioned. “It’s a little hard to believe.”
Ivanka Trump shared that she’s taking a step outside of the political arena.
“I love my father very much. This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics,” she told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena,” she added.
Ivanka, Trump’s second oldest child, worked as an adviser during the Trump administration. Her husband, Jared Kushner, also served in the White House as a senior adviser. Kushner and Eric Trump reportedly were present for Tuesday’s announcement.
“I happen to have some children in the front row. I think they understand. In fact, my one boy, stand up Eric,” Trump said in a shoutout to his son during the speech. “I think he got more subpoenas than any man in the history of our country? And I appreciate the job you do and the abuse that you’ve taken. I really do.”
Michael Cohen formally served as the vice president of the Trump Organization and as a former longtime personal attorney for former President Trump.
In a Wednesday interview on “Dan Abrams Live,” Cohen said those who know Ivanka and Jared did not expect them to become involved in Trump’s campaign or his administration if he is elected again.
“There’s reasons why. First of all, Jared and Ivanka got out of the former administration everything they wanted. Jared got his father the pardon. They made hundreds of millions of dollars for themselves while they were working in the administration,” Cohen said.
Cohen speculated that Ivanka and Jared may be distancing themselves from Trump due to the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago.
“I’ve maintained that it’s my opinion that Jared or Ivanka or ‘Jivanka’ together are actually the moles, and it would be very interesting. If you think about it this way, if you have an FBI informant who happens to also be part of a campaign, a presidential campaign, or worse, that returned to senior adviser to the president, I mean that would be like a house of cards,” Cohen said.
In the interview, Cohen clarified that is speculation and only his opinion. His statement has not been verified.
As far as the absence of Don Jr. goes, Cohen believes something may have happened between him and his father ahead of the announcement.
“The whole thing makes no sense when it comes to Don. But their relationship has always been contentious,” Cohen added.
Cohen says Ivanka’s intention has been clear, while Don Jr.’s is a bit hazy.
“Ivanka and Jared were very clear from the beginning. They don’t want to be there. As I said, they’ve racked up everything that they wanted out of the former administration, nothing going forward will do them any benefit or their family who happened to be shunned right now and rightfully so, you know, based upon their father and even their participation in many things,” Cohen said. “Don Jr. is just a whole other ball of wax here that nobody can figure out (…) Donald gets angry at Don Jr. faster than he gets angry at the media, the fake news. It’s truly a dynamic relationship, to say the least.”
Ivanka made headlines after meeting with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. In an interview with Fox News, she said she was proud of her accomplishments but that she does not miss politics.