Copyright washingtontimes
“Under Siege: My Family’s Fight to Save Our Nation,” by President Trump’s son Eric Trump, delivers an insider’s view of the decadelong trials and triumphs of the entire Trump team. In it, Eric is lovingly complementary to everyone in the close-knit Trump family and the Trump business family. Eric is especially mindful of his father’s business and political acumen, outsize stamina and relaxed attitude, even under intense circumstances. Yet it’s not just President Trump who is highly esteemed throughout “Under Siege.” Many other family, business and team members — especially Eric’s wife, Lara Trump — are identified and given detailed, heartfelt recognition in the extensive acknowledgments section of the book and again within the main text and two ample photo portions. Writing this on Election Day 2025 reminded me that one year ago, on Election Day 2024, I served as an official poll watcher assigned to a polling station in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. That morning, I was deliberately locked out of the building as the poll workers set up the voting booths. Once voting began, I was allowed in but kept from direct observation of voters as they checked in to cast their ballots. Both preventive actions went contrary to voting regulations. I reported the lockout to the Republican National Committee Election Day Legal Hotline, and Lara Trump was on it. It turns out that my experience was far from unique. It happened in eight Pennsylvania counties, a situation noted in “Under Siege.” As Lara Trump reported on Fox News that day, “We had to act in a moment’s notice and that is why we designed this election integrity operation the way we did to identify problems and strike at a moment’s notice.” Lara Trump was RNC co-chair and responsible for assuring election integrity. Eric details the events leading up to his father’s first term and going all the way through Election Day 2024. “To say we were winging it in the opening months was an understatement,” he writes. “It left the establishment speechless. But in many ways, running for office was not any different from real estate development. You need a solid product and a message that connects with people. What we lacked in experience in the political arena we made up for in authenticity, character, and work ethic.” That “authenticity, character, and work ethic” certainly continued from Day 1 of the campaign through the successful first election, the presidency, the presidential hiatus and finally the triumphant return to office. The shameful, relentless lawfare to destroy the president and every person who supported him and every impressive accomplishment did not weaken the support of Mr. Trump’s close-knit family. As Eric explains: “We’re Trumps — when something matters, we don’t back down, we build, we fight, and we win. That’s what we do.” This quote gives the sense of the passion that Eric shows throughout “Under Siege.” The family devotion and drive are credibly conveyed, giving almost inarguable truth to the book’s subtitle (“My Family’s Fight to Save Our Nation”). Eric asserts that: “More often than not, politicians have been a detriment to the family unit in this country — the erosion of community and faith, the curriculum taught in schools, and bad economic policy pressuring parents to work long hours or multiple jobs. Turning that tide is a huge part of Make America Great Again.” Even among the harsh political chicanery dissected in “Under Siege” (and the book’s dissection does not disappoint), it’s hard to miss Eric’s exposure of the loving fatherly and grandfatherly side of the president. My favorite example is when, right after President Trump was indicted in the pathetic Mar-a-Lago documents case, his 3-year-old granddaughter wished him an enthusiastic “Happy Birthday!” (which was the next day). She also gave him a big hug and asked whether he was going to a trampoline park to celebrate. As Eric observed, “The cruelty of the world met innocence.” “Under Siege” is an engaging, deeply personal account of the most ruthless political struggle I have witnessed in my lifetime. Both friends and foes of the Trump legacy would do well to learn from an insider what it takes to endure and be successful in the fight to save our nation during the current dark days of American politics. • Anthony J. Sadar is a certified consulting meteorologist and an adjunct associate professor of science at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. He is also a co-author of “Environmental Risk Communication: Principles and Practices for Industry” (CRC Press).
