‘I’ll have to say, you’re fired, Don’: Trump jokes about son’s role during TPUSA event
President Trump calls in to Don Jr. at AmericaFest 2025: “I hope my son is doing a good job representing me. Otherwise, I will have to say: YOU’RE FIRED, Don! You’re fired!”
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) December 21, 2025
pic.twitter.com/T0TyjiR53T
PHOENIX, ARIZONA: President Donald Trump shared a bizarre moment with his son, Donald Trump Jr, during the Turning Point USA AmericaFest conference on Sunday, December 21, jokingly threatening to “fire” him over speakerphone.
The playful exchange highlighted the rapport between the two as the president took Don’s call to surprise the Phoenix crowd, since he was unable to attend the event in person.
Trump jokes about ‘firing’ Don Jr during surprise call
The crowd erupted when Donald Trump Jr pulled out his phone to introduce a surprise speaker, telling the audience, “I wanted to call in a little guest. He may not be here today, but I wanted to make sure he had a chance to say ‘hi,’” before exclaiming, “Mr President!”
President Trump’s voice was immediately met with cheers as he said, “Oh, I wanna be with you. But I’ll be with you soon, and I just wanna say that nobody did more for me than Charlie, and there’s nobody better than Erika, and you are the greatest people on Earth.”
The interaction then took a humorous turn when the president decided to tease his son about his speaking duties.
After expressing his gratitude to the supporters in attendance, he quipped, “I just wanted to thank you all, and I hope my son’s doing a good job representing me; otherwise, I’ll have to say ‘You’re fired, Don. You’re fired.’”
🇺🇸 DON JR: "THIS ISN’T THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ANYMORE - IT’S THE AMERICA FIRST PARTY"
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 21, 2025
Don Jr. kept the fire going, this time taking aim at both Democrats and establishment Republicans, or as he calls them, “RINOs.”
With midterms on the horizon, he says the full political machine… https://t.co/5JqcQWXjLX pic.twitter.com/7BHKMuLhgM
He kept the joke going until the end of the call, telling attendees, “So thank you very much and have a great day. I hope Don makes a great speech. If he doesn’t make a great speech, let me know about it, I’ll give him hell.”
Don Jr says GOP establishment is over, touts ‘America First’
During the event, Trump Jr remained focused on what he described as the evolution of the party.
He claimed that the traditional Republican establishment had been replaced, with his father now leading what he called the “America First Party” and the “Make America Great Again Party.”
🇺🇸 DON JR: "UNVETTED AFGHAN REFUGEES TURNED MINNESOTA INTO A LITTLE SOMALIA"
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 21, 2025
Don Jr. just unleashed a brutal firestorm on immigration, national security, and the deadly cost of bipartisan weakness, torching not only Democrats but spineless establishment Republicans who sold out… https://t.co/LJrxHGIXau pic.twitter.com/s2XGl6H7qE
He dismissed various criticisms as part of a broader effort to halt their momentum, telling the crowd, “You see the manufactured attacks on JD Vance, myself, my father, anyone who understands that this isn’t the Republican Party anymore. It’s the America First Party. It’s the Make America Great Again Party. And we are not going back!”
The declaration prompted the audience to break into a spirited “USA! USA! USA!” chant.
Don Jr criticizes weak Republicans while backing refugee curbs
Furthermore, Trump Jr, while using the speech to criticize Democrats, also took aim at “weak” Republicans “who just capitulated to the DC swamp.”
He specifically highlighted his father’s actions in curbing refugee resettlement, a move that significantly lowered the annual cap on admissions to 7,500.
He used the platform to question the benefits of these programs, specifically citing their impact on Minneapolis by stating, “For years they turned Minnesota into little Somalia.”
Referencing the massive 90 percent decrease in refugee arrivals under his father’s administration compared to previous years, Trump Jr doubled down on the “America First” policy.
