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Here are the people “loyalty czar” Donald Trump Jr. would like to hire for a second Trump administration

On his Rumble podcast, Donald Trump Jr. has taken recommendations and made suggestions for the Cabinet and more

Written by Alicia Sadowski

Published

Updated

Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are assuming the position of “loyalty czars” within the Trump campaign, Axios reported on April 24, with the two eldest Trump sons aiming to “focus on vetting potential officials and staffers for ideology and loyalty” and to “take a lead in making sure government jobs are filled by Republicans aligned with Trump's vision for the party.”

Reporter Alex Thompson writes: 

Don Jr.’s goal “is to keep the John Boltons of the world outside a second Trump administration,” a person close to him told Axios, referring to Donald Trump's hawkish former national security adviser who wrote a bestselling book lambasting the former president.

The New York Post similarly reported in March: “Should his father retake the Oval Office, Trump Jr. said he plans to take a ‘very active’ role in the the 2024 presidential transition team.” 

“Mostly just to make sure we stop some of the D.C. swamp rats and the swamp creatures from getting in there and doing their thing,” he told the paper. “There are so many great people to choose from now with the first four years of the administration you have a good understanding of who would be great and loyal and implement the America First policies.”

On his Rumble podcast, Triggered, Trump Jr. has frequently taken recommendations from his audience and made his own suggestions of far-right extremists, conspiracy theorists, and MAGA loyalists who would fit into his vision for a second Trump administration: 

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  • Laura Loomer

  • Laura Loomer is a self-described “proud Islamophobe” who has said she is “pro-white nationalism,” celebrated the death of thousands of migrants, and dismissed the massacre of Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand. [Angry White Men, 3/7/21; Right Wing Watch, 11/1/17; Twitter/X, 7/24/17; Huffington Post, 8/20/22]

    • Trump Jr. said that he wanted Loomer as his father’s next White House press secretary. On his podcast, Trump Jr. said he’d “love to see her as press secretary just to watch D.C. just explode.” Loomer responded on her own show, saying she would “gladly” serve as press secretary. [Media Matters, 11/10/23; Rumble, Loomer Unleashed, 11/10/23]

  • Mike Davis

  • Mike Davis is a pro-Trump sycophant who has promised to wage a “reign of terror” against political enemies he would fire, indict, deport, or imprison under a second Trump administration. He has garnered attention in right-wing media for his excuse of Trump’s crimes, authoritarian leanings, and role in founding the Article III Project, which he described to The New York Times in 2019 as an effort for the right to “take off the gloves, put on the brass knuckles and fight back” on judicial issues. [Media Matters, 11/10/23]

    • Trump Jr. said that “you almost have to” nominate Davis as attorney general. “Just put them in as interim even just to send that shot across the bow of the swamp, you know? Like — you want to play?” [Rumble, Triggered, 11/9/23]

  • Tucker Carlson

  • Tucker Carlson is the disgraced former Fox News prime-time host whose nativist commentary normalized white supremacist talking points in conservative rhetoric. Carlson also has a history of claiming January 6 was a “false flag,” praising authoritarian leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, and elevating bizarre pseudoscientific ideas to address an alleged crisis of masculinity. [Media Matters 10/28/18, 12/19/22]

    • Trump Jr. said that Carlson would be his “first, second, third, fourth, and fifth choice for VP if I could decide right now.” He added, “He’d be great on a lot of issues and it would also drive the other side insane.” [Rumble, Triggered, 11/9/23]
    • Trump Jr. reiterated that Carlson is his pick for vice president but indicated he would also “be great” for press secretary. The former Fox host “actually understands the issues, unlike most of these clowns in the media,” who are “not smart enough, most of them, to actually understand the details … so he would run circles around them,” he said. Trump Jr. added: “I had higher hopes for Tucker than press secretary, obviously, but, man, he’d be great in the role.” [Rumble, Triggered, 12/28/23]

  • Dan Bongino 

  • Dan Bongino is a Trump loyalist who amassed a right-wing following by attacking the Mueller probe, appearing on Alex Jones’ Infowars conspiracy theory outlet, and promising that “my entire life right now is about owning the libs.” Bongino is currently a Rumble-exclusive contributor and was previously a Secret Service agent, NYPD officer, thrice-failed congressional candidate, NRATV host, and Fox News personality. [Media Matters, 5/21/21, 4/11/23]

    • Answering audience questions live on-air, Trump Jr. said Bongino “would be great” for vice president or another position “to just end nonsense … put him in charge of the FBI and getting rid of the crap down below there.” While reading other audience suggestions for his father’s potential future Cabinet, Trump Jr. previously said Bongino “would be a good one, that’d be fire on day one.” [Rumble, Triggered, 1/18/24, 12/28/23]

  • Vivek Ramaswamy

  • Vivek Ramaswamy is an “anti-woke” entrepreneur and author who frequently appeared on Fox News and gained attention from his failed GOP primary campaign as part of the 2024 presidential race, though he remained a Trump loyalist. During his campaign, Ramaswamy attempted to appeal to the far right by endorsing the “great replacement” conspiracy theory and suggesting that January 6 was an “inside job.” [The New York Times, 2/21/23; The Associated Press, 1/16/24; New York Magazine, 1/3/24]

    • Trump Jr. said that he liked the idea of Ramaswamy for vice president but that he also saw support for making him the “blow-shit-up czar, basically, like just get in there and, you know, take down these institutions.” “By the way, both of which [are] important and interesting,” he added. [Rumble, Triggered, 1/18/24]

  • Alex Jones

  • Infowars host Alex Jones is a 9/11 truther and conspiracy theorist who has been found liable for his false claim that the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting was a hoax; he has also platformed Holocaust deniers. [Media Matters, 12/1/16, 11/3/23; NPR, 12/2/22; The Associated Press, 10/12/22, 11/27/23]

    • Trump Jr. floated Jones as part of a “day-one troll team” for high-level positions in the Trump White House. He went on to threaten that as “punishment” for “every time they just totally disregard the Constitution” or “start another sham impeachment,” Jones would be given an official position “for a month.” [Rumble, Triggered, 12/28/23]
    • While reading audience suggestions, Trump Jr. said Jones would be a “fair” choice for press secretary in a second Trump administration. [Rumble, Triggered, 12/28/23]

  • Owen Shroyer

  • Owen Shroyer is an Infowars host who federal prosecutors said “helped create January 6.” The Washington Post noted that Shroyer had spread “2020 election conspiracy theories with calls for violence to a large internet following,” and during the January 6 insurrection, the Infowars host “trespassed on restricted Capitol grounds in violation of a prior court stayaway order for disruptive conduct.” [The Washington Post, 9/12/23]

    • Listing Shroyer among audience suggestions for future Cabinet picks, Trump Jr. complained that the Infowars host “just did some jail time for nonsense” and said he would like to see Shroyer on an “FU tour in Washington, D.C.” [Rumble, Triggered, 12/28/23]

  • Jack Posobiec

  • Jack Posobiec is a right-wing troll and pro-Trump conspiracy theorist with white supremacist ties. Posobiec promoted the debunked “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory accusing members of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign of being part of a pedophilia ring that operated out of a D.C. pizza parlor. [Media Matters, 8/15/17; Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed 4/26/24]

    • Trump Jr. said that Posobiec “would be a good one” to include in his father’s Cabinet. Posobiec has also appeared on Trump Jr.’s livestream to praise “the great men of means” such as those who founded conservative-leaning platforms like Truth Social and Rumble, encouraging “everyone at lower levels” to “be supporting those guys at all times, period, full stop." [Rumble, Triggered, 12/28/23, 4/1/24]

  • James O’Keefe

  • James O’Keefe is the disgraced founder and former leader of the right-wing media organization Project Veritas, a group that targeted progressive figures and organizations by covertly filming them and publishing deceptively edited videos to spread misinformation. O’Keefe’s previous plots included trying to push false stories of sexual abuse to The Washington Post, trying to undermine the 2020 election, and targeting Planned Parenthood. [NPR, 2/21/23; Media Matters, 11/28/17, 1/4/21; The New York Times, 7/27/11]

    • Trump Jr. said O’Keefe would be “a good one” for a Cabinet position, adding, “That would drive some people crazy.” [Rumble, Triggered, 12/28/23]

  • Victor Davis Hanson

  • Victor Davis Hanson is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and frequent Fox News guest who has written the book The Case for Trump and has invoked “great replacement” theory rhetoric. [The New York Times, 3/5/19; Media Matters, 6/30/22, 5/9/23, 9/22/23]

    • Trump Jr. responded “that would be an awesome one” after one of his audience members suggested Hanson could be in charge of the Department of Education, saying, “That would drive them crazy but I’d love to see them argue with his academic credentials.” [Rumble, Triggered, 12/28/23]

  • Kari Lake

  • Kari Lake is a failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate and current senate candidate who has a history of election denial and courting extremist endorsements. Lake has embraced extremists such as Loomer and Posobiec and antisemites such as Jarrin Jackson and Stew Peters. [AZ Central, 1/25/23; Media Matters, 10/24/23, 10/12/22]

    • Trump Jr. agreed that Lake would “drive a lot of people crazy” as a vice presidential nominee. [Rumble, Triggered, 12/28/23]

  • Correction (5/10/24): Language in this piece has been revised to reflect that Infowars’ Owen Shroyer was not convicted but in fact pleaded guilty to one count of violating 18 U.S.C. 1752(a)(1): : “Whoever— knowingly enters or remains in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so.”