Yahoo News, August 2020
Donald Trump is keeping it all in the family at this week’s Republican convention, giving his four children prime speaking slots alongside his wife Melania and highlighting the unprecedented role they have played in the political affairs of the United States.
The children and spouses of US candidates normally partake in the rituals of presidential campaigns: Last week’s virtual Democratic convention saw Joe Biden flanked by his children and grandchildren, who highlighted the qualities of their 77-year-old patriarch.
But the Trump side is markedly different, says political science professor Costas Panagopoulos, because the president’s family members “can not only comment on the candidate and his character… but also on substance, on policy issues that they have been directly involved in during the administration.”
