IN AN INTERVIEW with Katie Hannon on RTÉ Radio 1′s Drivetime this afternoon, Donald Trump’s son, Eric, was swift with answers: on the Trump-effect in Doonbeg; on the forthcoming meeting between his father and President Catherine Connolly; on comedian Rosie O’Donnell.

The first question that gave him pause – just for the briefest of moments – was: “The midterms. Are you worried?”

Once he got started, he took off into an answer about how he doesn’t think people aren’t motivated to get out and vote when their party is the one in power. Even more so, he said, when Trump isn’t the one on the ticket.

“Donald Trump is such a unicorn candidate. People wanted to vote for Donald Trump. They didn’t even care about voting for Republicans. They wanted to vote for Donald Trump. And so when he’s not directly on the ticket, I think there’s a lot of people who just don’t want to turn out because their guy’s physically not there.”

Saying, without saying, that the Republicans might not do as well in the midterms as they would like to.

Is that why Trump promised this week to give $5,000 to every US adult if they win?

“No, I think he’s doing that because our country has never been wealthier before,” Eric Trump said, refuting questioning from Hannon about economists’ saying such a move would bankrupt the American economy.

Eric Trump and Donald Trump photographed together in April 2026. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Eric Trump is in Ireland ahead of his father’s visit this weekend.

The US president is due to meet various Irish politicians on Saturday and attend a private event at the US ambassador’s residence in the Phoenix Park before travelling to Doonbeg, where he’ll attend the Amgen Irish Open at the Trump International Hotel.

On Trump’s itinerary is a president-to-president meeting at the Áras.

During his Drivetime interview, Eric Trump was asked how he thinks the meeting will go, given that Connolly has spoken out in the past against Trump’s policies.

“Honestly, I leave it to them. I’m here to host a beautiful golf tournament. I’m here to build the greatest property in this country,” he said.

“I’ve seen so much political nonsense bravado over the last 12 years, where one day two people hate each other, and the next day the two people are hugging and singing Kumbaya. To me, it’s not real world, all right?”

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“Ted Cruz and my father went to war for, you know, a year, called each other all sorts of names, and now they’re best friends. Marco Rubio and my father were on the debate stage going head-to-head, throwing insults back and forth, and guess what? Marco is probably the number one member of his cabinet right now.”

Trump visited Doonbeg in 2019 during his first term as president. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The younger Trump spoke about the plans to build a ballroom at the Trump hotel in Doonbeg, claiming “the country wants it 100%” and accusing Ireland and Europe at large of having too much red tape over planning.

He said he’d “love” to set up a Trump Tower in Dublin, calling it a “charming” and “amazing, amazing” city.

“I think at some point in the future we will certainly be in Dublin, but it has to be the best, ideally, it has to be the tallest, but it certainly has to be the best… The only properties that we have any interest in are the ones that can be the absolute best, and that’s why we bought Doonbeg,” he said.

Coming back to his comments on Trump’s pledge to give five grand to every adult if the Republicans win the upcoming midterms. Hannon asked Eric Trump: “Is he actually serious about that?”

The response: “When have you ever heard Donald Trump say something he wasn’t serious about?”