'Criticism means we'll fight harder in 2020' - Eric Trump

It's a stifling hot summer's day in the West of Ireland and I'm travelling with Eric Trump in a motorcade on the way to Shannon airport.

Outside, the mercury is rising and the world is caught up in a frenzy of allegations against US President Donald Trump.

The most powerful man in the western world has been accused of collaboration, collusion and information-sharing between his advisers and Russia. All of this, the president denies in the strongest possible terms, calling it nothing more than "a witch hunt".

The allegations are theoretical, circumstantial and unproven. But that hasn't stopped critics predicting that Trump is on the verge of impeachment. The latest from the liberal media is he'll be out by Christmas.

It's interesting, then, to experience the events from inside the bubble of the first family. Relaxed and content after a weekend of golf with 30 buddies at Clare's Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Doonbeg, Eric's demeanour is calm - a million miles from the hysteria of the mainstream media.

The air-con delivers a steady blast of cool air as he relaxes into the plush leather seats to take stock. Outside, a procession of gardai provide a smooth escort and for Eric, the road ahead seems perfectly clear.

Far from buckling, the constant attack from the media is simply strengthening their resolve: "Ivanka and Don and I - we are a family and we also know him [our Dad] better than anybody else in the world. We see the nonsense, the dismissiveness, the evilness, the witch hunts - and personally it makes me want to fight harder next time."

When you say 'next time', do you mean your father going for the eight years as President?

"I mean 2020," he says matter of factly,

"If you didn't have some of that evilness, maybe you would be more cavalier, maybe you would be more relaxed, [but] with some of the things you see, it makes me want to fight harder for the administration than honestly ever before."

During the presidential election campaign, a data expert reportedly handed every member of the Hillary Clinton team a document outlining how their approach of constant attack to take down Trump would backfire unless they stopped focusing on undermining their rival and started to deliver their own messages about policy. In the end, only 25pc of Clinton's TV ads focused on policy, while more than 60pc were personal attacks on Trump's character. The Democrats' approach backfired and the rest is history.

Eric's feelings rest somewhere between bafflement and bemusement. He believes his father's critics are making the same mistakes all over again: "They don't have a message. All they do is try to attack and discredit. [During the election] they had the entire mainstream media and they had $2.1bn dollars and we had $350m. The odds for us to win was seven to one but they didn't have their own message, they didn't know how to communicate it."

He points to the recent US special elections. Four seats were vacated by Republicans who joined the Trump administration. All four seats were won by Republicans. Democrats, who hoped to prove that the public was rejecting the Trump agenda, were left crying at the foot of the scoreboard.

"This is the leadership of the Democratic Party and I hope it continues because it will make the next go around much easier," he says.

"There isn't a single compelling person that anyone is gravitating towards. [The Democrats] are just doubling down on the same message, pushing a narrative that is a total witch hunt. The Russia thing is the single worst polling issue among Americans. Yet this very narrative that [Americans] don't care about is the very narrative [the Democrats] are focusing on. It doesn't make any sense!"

Eric is touching on the old adage that people care more about their own toothache than an earthquake in China. Jobs and the economy are their main concern: latest reports show the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 20pc since election day, while the end of July marked its 48th record close since last November. An estimated 863,000 jobs have been created since Trump became president. The news has led to the repeated replay of a 2016 clip of former President Barack Obama asking Trump what 'magic wand' he had to bring jobs back to America.

"Data speaks and if the economy is polling at 35pc and jobs are polling at 25pc, and these are the two biggest issues that poll best - why wouldn't [the Democrats] narrative focus on these issues? Because the numbers are the best they have ever been in the last 10 years - they can't talk about [jobs or the economy] so they have to focus on [Russia] the single worst issue in terms of what people care about."

When the US media are not reporting on Russia, they are covering 'on-loop' trivial stories that keep the rest of us in Europe entertained: Ivanka taking her father's seat at the G8 summit, President Trump and Melania's hand-holding, his compliment to Brigitte Macron, the wife of French president, Emmanuel Macron, that she was in 'such good shape' and the meaning behind various handshakes with world leaders.

All of this, Eric calls "white noise" which distracts from real issues.

On Ivanka, I ask if it is possible she will get involved in politics in the future. Eric says: "That is a question for her and I don't want to answer for her but she is brilliant and she is as qualified as anybody to sit in any seat. Believe me, he wouldn't have her by his side if she wasn't."

I ask him about the possibility that Ivanka could be lined up to become the first female president of America (various newspaper reports are tipping her to one day inherit her father's legacy.)

"She has my vote," says Eric. "She's fantastic. She is strong, she is elegant, she is very, very smart, she is rational, she can make decisions quickly but she's also thoughtful. She ticks all the boxes."

Does President Trump go to her for advice?

"Yes. 100pc. She's there."

On the public and media scrutiny, he has a pragmatic attitude: "Listen, it is what is. You live your life and you ignore a lot of the nonsense."

He adds: "Honestly you have to laugh, if you didn't you would probably shoot yourself. If you actually took this stuff personally, you would end up shooting yourself. So you laugh about it and you live your life.

"I have a kid coming along, I get to do cool things like build great properties and travel to them. We have a great company, which is doing awesome. [In 2016, the hotel and golf club in Doonbeg had its most successful year since opening following refurbishment and the 2017 result is forecast to exceed this again.] Everybody in the company is happy and I guess, on the flip side, you deal with nonsense. It is what is it. There could be a lot worse in life."

On his father's plans to come to Ireland, he says we can expect more than one visit from the US President.

"He loves this country, he has spent a lot of time in Doonbeg, he truly loves this place, and I would find it hard to believe that he wouldn't be over here - more than once."

Do you think your father has any regrets in taking on the presidency?

"I think he is having a great time with it, to tell you the truth."

And what about reports that his children are miserable because of the role - and want the four years to end? A friend of the Trump brothers reportedly told PEOPLE magazine the men hate their role as first sons: "Eric and Don, they never wanted this," the magazine quotes the source as saying: "Don can't do any deals, because he'll be overly scrutinised. He just goes to work every day and is miserable."

"It's absolutely not true," says Eric, "I saw they included me in that so I have to say: if we didn't want this presidency to happen, why would we have fought so hard for it? And by the way, if we didn't want it to happen, why then would we be gearing up to fight so hard for it again?"

Sure enough, reports are already circulating that his wife (who is due their first child in September) has joined the digital company Giles-Parscale, used by President Trump's successful presidential campaign.

I tell him it's remarkable that in the midst of the scrutiny and criticism, his focus is already on the next term.

"Yeah. You tell me in two years when we are sitting in the same spot when I am over in Doonbeg, based on how hard we fight going into 2020, whether or not we want it to happen."

As we arrive on the runway, the family's private plane comes into view, the Trump logo in capital letters across the side. His friends are already on board, after a whirlwind weekend of golf at Aberdeen, Turnberry and Doonbeg.

"We'll be back at home in New York by five o'clock."

I guess he's right.

Things could be a lot worse than life as a Trump.