Only one of Donald Trump’s children will vote for him in the upcoming closed New York Primary on April 19 – Donald Trump, Jr.
Despite campaigning vigorously for their father, both Eric and Ivanka Trump missed the deadline in October to register as members of the Republican party.
New York utilizes a closed primary, meaning that only voters registered as a member of a political party can vote. Twenty-two other states and Washington DC also hold closed primaries. A few states – Alabama, Idaho, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah – do this for specific parties only. Some of these states allow for same-day party registration while others follow New York’s lead in requiring registration ahead of time.
On Fox & Friends this morning, Donald Trump shared his feelings on the situation:
“They were, you know, unaware of the rules, and they didn’t, they didn’t register in time, so they feel very, very guilty. They feel very guilty. But it’s fine. I understand that. I think they have to register a year in advance and they didn’t. So Eric and Ivanka, I guess, won’t be voting.”
.@realdonaldtrump says Eric, Ivanka feel "guilty" for not registering as Republicans in time to vote pic.twitter.com/NmWBn38Hn5
— POLITICO (@politico) April 11, 2016
He then jokes that he’s taken away their allowance.
It’s interesting to note that both Ivanka and Eric have donated money to Democrats as well. Could it be possible that this was less of an unintended slip-up?
Then again, Donald and his wife Melania donate on a more bipartisan basis as well. It is no secret that Trump himself has a strained relationship with the Republican party, so his history of policial donations may not be as surprising to some.
While Trump’s 10-year-old son is ineligible to vote, it remains to be seen how his youngest daughter, Tiffany, will vote. She has not been very active at all in her father’s campaign.
Featured image via Scott Olson / Getty.
