Opinion
Donald Trump Jr. launched his own hunting and outdoor magazine called Field Ethos, describing it as “probably one of the least political things I do.”
Trump Jr.’s new magazine
When Trump Jr. isn’t campaigning for his father, he can usually be found outdoors.
“If I’m in Colorado for an event, I go away for half a day and go fly fishing,” he told Politico. “I had a really crazy day of conference calls today, but I’m literally in the car, doing them all. I’ll go quail hunting in upstate Florida before returning to Palm Beach for a business dinner at Mar-a-Lago.
“This is my decompression from the general five-lecture-a-day lifestyle that will be my next, let’s call it year,” he added. “The next 12 months will be interesting for me and my family, and it’s nice to know I can reach for one of our journals when I need a break from it all.”
Trump Jr. was first introduced to the great outdoors by his maternal grandfather Milos Zelnicek, who took his New York grandson camping in then-communist Czechoslovakia.
“I literally fell in love with it; I read every book there was on the subject,” Trump Jr. said. “All of these things, I think, are getting lost in today’s instant gratification society. You know, kids sit there in front of a video game. Everything is…instant gratification.”
Related: Trump Jr. rips Mitch McConnell as ‘Pro-amnesty Turtle’ after vast majority of $118 billion Senate bill goes to Israel, Ukraine
The co-founder of Field Ethos speaks
Field Ethos co-founder and CEO Jason Vincent explained that the magazine’s target demographic is men between the ages of 25 and 55, although a quarter or more of the audience is female.
“That could really stem from the fact that there is still some sort of pull towards that unapologetic male mentality,” Vincent said. “That might be why we’ve built the female following that we have… it doesn’t feel like it’s being watered down to try to gain popularity with them.”
Vincent went on to say that while the magazine is not explicitly political, there are times when politics intersects with issues that readers are intrinsically interested in, such as gun rights.
“Yes, Don is involved. He’s part of our group of friends and our team at Field Ethos,” Vincent said. “But … Field Ethos is really designed to be a place where people can go when they’re tired of it all.”
When politics does find its way into the magazine, Vincent said the politics are “sensible,” middle-of-the-road and decidedly not far-right.
“The far right is not our brand,” Vincent said. “We believe we are speaking to a sophisticated audience that is intelligent enough not to find themselves at the extremes of either party.”
Related: Donald Trump Jr. calls for ‘mass deportations’ as reports show over 1,000 ‘Gotaways’ fleeing into country every day
Trump Jr.’s goal with pitch ethics
Ultimately, Trump Jr. has a clear goal in launching Field Ethos.
“Creating an alternative point of view for Americans who feel left behind and who don’t want to support these things,” he concluded, “that’s a big part of the goal.”
Considering how crazy this year is likely to be for the Trump family, we’re glad to see that Trump Jr. has a passion project that will allow him to escape. If you’re a fan of the great outdoors, be sure to pick up a copy of Field Ethos!
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