During the second night of the Republican National Convention, Eric Trump offered a personal appeal to his father, President Donald Trump. Following scathing condemnations of Democrats and the media and praise of his father’s accomplishments in office, Trump used the final moments of his speech to tell his father to “make Uncle Robert proud.”
“In closing, I’d like to speak directly to my father. I miss working alongside you every day, but I’m d– proud to be on the front lines of this fight. I am proud of what you are doing for this country,” he said, according to The Hill. “Dad, let’s make Uncle Robert proud. Let’s go get another four years.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Robert Trump died on Aug. 15 at the age of 71, just a day after news broke that he had been admitted to a New York hospital. Announcing his brother’s passing with “a heavy heart,” the president said that Robert “was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. Robert, I love you. Rest in peace.”
Robert had reportedly been sick for several months and had been admitted to New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan in June for an undisclosed serious condition, though he was discharged shortly after. The cause of Robert’s death was not released, though a close friend of the Trump family told the New York Times said he suffered brain bleeds after a recent fall.
A funeral service was held for Robert at the White House on Aug. 21, marking the first funeral to take place there since President John F. Kennedy’s funeral services were held in the East Room in 1963. Prior to announcing funeral plans, the president had said that he believed it would be “a great honor” for his brother, who “loved our country so much” and was “so proud of what we were doing and what we are doing for our country.”
Robert’s passing came just as the flurry surrounding the upcoming presidential election began to heat up, with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden officially naming Kamala Harris as his Vice Presidential running mate. Last week, the Democratic National Convention was held, during which speakers largely addressed Trump’s failures in office, namely his response to the coronavirus pandemic, while endorsing Biden and Harris and speaking of the changes they will enact if elected to office.
Meanwhile, the Republican National Convention officially kicked off this week. The RNC features a long list of speakers, with First Lady Melania Trump delivering an address from the Rose Garden Tuesday night.
