Trump says Lara Trump would be 'great' for North Carolina Senate seat

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, would be a "great" candidate to succeed retiring Sen. Thom Tillis in the North Carolina Senate.

It came after the president was asked whom he would want to run to fill Tillis’s seat.

"Somebody that would really be great is Lara. She grew up there," he told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from the state of Florida.

Trump said Lara and his son, Eric, live in Florida.

"She’s a great person, Lara Trump. I mean, that would always be my first choice, but she doesn’t live there now,” Trump said.

“But she’s there all the time, her parents are there. You know, she really knows North Carolina well. I won it three times. I don’t know who the candidates are going to be. I think you’ll have one of the congressmen step up and should do very well," he added.

"I didn't get along with Tillis and he resigned. It's good,” he said.

Tillis, a Republican, announced Sunday he would not seek reelection in 2026, a sudden move that followed his public opposition to Trump’s tax and spending plan because of proposed cuts to health care programs.