He has the surname, has just embarked on a nationwide tour to promote his memoir about life in the political spotlight, and won’t rule anything out. So is Eric Trump, the US president’s second son and a recently (if briefly) minted billionaire, planning to step into the spotlight with a 2028 run for president? For the first time, we have an idea of how it might go. A new poll reveals that although he has a fighting chance of winning the Republican nomination, he is far from being the heir to the Trump White House. Donald Trump Jr, his rabble-rousing, podcasting elder brother, has a head start in taking over the family politics business. JL Partners ran two polls. In the first, Eric, 41, would take 6 per cent of the Republican vote if the nomination battle were held today, trailing far behind JD Vance, on 41 per cent, as well as Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, and Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state. In the second, his name was taken out and replaced with his brother, Don Jr, who ranked second, with 14 per cent, even though he says he has “zero interest” in running. The numbers reflect their different lives since their father first took power in 2016. Eric took over the Trump Organisation, masterminding the opening of a new golf course in Scotland this summer and travelling the world to pursue property and crypto deals. In contrast, Don Jr entered the political arena. He built a huge following with his punchy social media presence and Triggered podcast, touring the country in support of Trump-endorsed candidates. Yet Eric’s profile has surged this year. He has made a series of high-profile appearances centred around cryptocurrency that saw him briefly crowned a billionaire by Forbes when his cryptomining venture went public.