Former President Donald Trump teased that his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, might run for the Senate seat being vacated GOP Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina in surprise remarks delivered at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
Fox News reported Trump stunned attendees when, fresh off of the golf course at nearby Trump International in West Palm Beach, he dropped in to a dog charity fundraiser to address those in attendance.
Reporter T.A. Walker with WPTV shared video of those comments on Twitter:
President Trump’s surprise speech at @BDRRescue‘s fundraiser. pic.twitter.com/xfVcgDtigG
— T.A. Walker (@timallanwalker) March 12, 2021
“So, I didn’t exactly prepare for this,” Trump said, noting that he hadn’t intended to address a crowd.
“But I was walking by and I hear everybody screaming in the ballroom and I said ‘what’s going on?’ and they said ‘we’re going to help dogs,’ and that’s OK with me.”
“I want to thank Lara, who has been so incredible,” he said. “I don’t know, you’re running for the Senate?”
The comment was met with spirited applause. Trump has made few public appearances since leaving office and has used many of his recent public comments to endorse candidates for the upcoming 2022 midterm elections.
“What you’re doing is so important and so great, and so important and I’m with you 100 percent, and we had many meetings in the White House and the Oval Office, having to do with saving and helping dogs and that’s what we want to do,” Trump added.
Fox reported the charity event was held for the Big Dog Ranch Rescue, which is seeking to save dogs from the Chinese meat market. While that’s certainly a worthy cause, the real story here is about Lara Trump.
Rumors have swirled about one of Trump’s children — or their spouses — running for a senate in either the House or Senate. Ivanka Trump was rumored to be considering a run for the Senate in Florida in recent months, but she never committed to seeking a career as an elected official.
The New York Times reported Ivanka was rumored to be considering a primary challenge to either of Florida’s Republican Sens. Rick Scott or Marco Rubio. She reportedly ultimately decided against that.
Lara Trump has since been connected to Burr’s soon-to-be-vacated seat by numerous outlets and rumors online.
Burr joined six other Republican senators who voted to convict Trump during the Democrats’ second partisan impeachment charade last month — assigning him blame for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The vote wasn’t enough to convict the former president, but it showed the Tar Heel State supporters of Trump and his policies in the state that Burr was willing to stand with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and not them.
“When this process started, I believed that it was unconstitutional to impeach a president who was no longer in office. I still believe that to be the case,” Burr said in a statement defending his vote. “However, the Senate is an institution based on precedent, and given that the majority in the Senate voted to proceed with this trial, the question of constitutionality is now established precedent.”
Burr had already announced he would not seek a fourth term in the Senate, Raleigh’s The News & Observer reported. That leaves the seat wide open.
If the former president’s Friday comments are any indication, the name Trump might be on the ballot in the state as early as next year. Lara Trump would certainly be an upgrade from Burr, were she to run and win. Trump’s endorsements have certainly not hurt candidates in recent years, and there is little doubt Lara Trump would have his full backing.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.