The Awkward Reason Donald Trump Wasn't Planning To Name Any Kids After Himself

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Donald Trump's infamous ego can easily lead people to believe that the president simply couldn't resist naming his first son after himself. However, in Ivana Trump's 2017 memoir, "Raising Trump," she revealed that Donald actually had no desire to do so. When the divisive politician's first wife initially floated the idea of naming their first son Donald Jr., he reportedly replied, "You can't do that! What if he's a loser?" Unfortunately, Donald couldn't let go of the notion even after Don Jr. was born. During a 2006 appearance on "The Big Idea," the businessman recalled how his famous father advised him to be good in school and to steer clear of trouble when he was four years old. However, Donald veered into more bizarre territory when he urged his son to never trust anyone either. 

In the next breath, the real estate mogul asked Don Jr. if he trusted him, and the youngster obviously replied in the affirmative. But, according to Don Jr., his dad didn't react well to this response, recalling, "You know, he thought I was a total failure. He goes, 'My son's a loser, I guess.' Because I couldn't even understand what he meant at the time," (via Mother Jones). In fact, at one point in Don Jr.'s childhood, his father decided that he shouldn't be his namesake at all and started referring to him by a different name entirely. In "The Art of the Deal," Don Jr. shared that his father started calling him by a nickname which he loathed: Donny. Worse, the future leader wouldn't let anyone call him Donny. Unsurprisingly, Donald made his son feel even smaller as he grew up.

According to Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former lawyer who's notably ashamed of his longtime connection with him, the president did not hold the best views about Donald Trump Jr. While delivering his opening statements for his 2019 testimony before the House Oversight Committee, the attorney claimed that Donald "frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world," (via YouTube). As a result, the controversial politician's eldest son didn't have the authority to organize meetings without parental (or a responsible adult's) permission.  

Meanwhile, in a 2022 chat with MSNBC, Cohen disclosed that Donald had an odd request for him when his adult children faced the threat of indictment in 2012. The future president apparently instructed his personal fixer, "If one or the other has to go to prison, make sure that it's Don because Don would be able to handle it," further stressing that he did not want Ivanka Trump to go to jail (via Business Insider). 

Donald's former lawyer further blasted how he really felt about his kids in his tell-all 2020 memoir "Disloyal." According to Cohen, Donald was supposedly furious at Don Jr. for proudly posting photos of himself hunting animals on social media. He reportedly screamed at his son, "You think you're a big man with a ten-thousand-dollar gun sitting on the rocks and then boom! You kill some f***ing animal?" Unfortunately, the massive ego and the unsavory sense of humor that Don Jr. inherited from his famous father have made him equally unpopular with the general masses.