Donald Trump Jr., forty-eight, made headlines after mistakenly claiming that Democratic candidates “want to make Ohio a state” during a campaign speech. The comment came while Trump Jr. was speaking at an event held by Vice President JD Vance in Swanton, Ohio, on Monday, Nov. 2. President Donald Trump’s eldest son was listing off what he claims Democratic candidates intend to do.Trump Jr. made the comments without explaining how Democrats could unilaterally carry out any of the actions he described. He told the crowd,“They want to pack the Supreme Court. They want to make Ohio a state, make DC a state, have permanent one-party rule, all apparently, I don’t know how it works, but you know, they can do these things and get away with it. All in the name of somehow preserving democracy.”Ohio, however, became the United States’ seventeenth state on Feb. 19, 1803, as per the National Archives. Keith Olbermann, who has more than 900,000 followers on X, took to the platform to react to Trump Jr.’s comments. Trump Jr., for context, has more than sixteen million followers on X.“New chin, old addiction,” shared Olbermann.He then added,“(Listen to him squealing)”(Keith Olbermann’s remarks are his own commentary on X, rooted in long-running public speculation about Donald Trump Jr that hasn't been verified. Neither the “chin” nor the “addiction” references reflect confirmed facts, and the publication does not endorse or validate these characterizations.)Donald Trump Jr. once admitted to partying hard before quitting alcohol, while President Trump credits late brother Fred for his own sobriety:Donald Trump Jr. greets people at a campaign rally ahead of U.S. Vice President JD Vance at Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport on November 02, 2026 in Swanton, Ohio - Source: GettyAs per a report shared by TIME, Donald Trump Jr is no stranger to legal trouble. Back in 2001, a public intoxication arrest caught up with him in downtown New Orleans. It was Mardi Gras season, the Catholic run-up to Lent. Eleven hours in a cell and a $300 bond later, he walked.Donald Trump Jr didn’t exactly hide his past, either. In a 2004 sit-down with New York Magazine, he owned up to years of heavy drinking, admitting he “used to drink a lot and party pretty hard.” He told reporters he had no off switch when it came to alcohol. He shared,“About two years ago, I quit drinking entirely. I have too much of an opportunity to make something of myself, be successful in my own right. Why blow it?”President Trump has his own connection to addiction. As per a report shared by CNN, he stood at the White House in 2017 and made it personal, speaking about his elder brother Fred. Fred Trump Jr. died from alcoholism in 1981. He was forty-three years old. The speech came as Trump declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency. He told those gathered,“I had a brother, Fred. Great guy, best-looking guy, best personality, much better than mine. But he had a problem. He had a problem with alcohol, and he would tell me, ‘Don’t drink. Don’t drink.’ He was substantially older, and I listened to him and I respected (him).”Fred’s warnings stuck. Trump said he had “somebody that guided me” and built a piece of his 2016 campaign around combating the opioid epidemic, drawing on what he saw firsthand.“I learned because of Fred. I learned,” he added.(The above covers Trump Jr.’s own public admissions and his father’s documented White House remarks. This section deals with alcohol specifically and is separate from the unverified substance-use speculation that circulates about Donald Trump Jr today.)President Trump defends Donald Trump Jr. over payments from a Russian businessman:Aside from making headlines for his recent speech blunder, back in September 2026, Donald Trump Jr. faced a new set of problems. As per a report shared by ProPublica, he had accepted substantial gifts from Umar Kremlev, the International Boxing Association president, a man with known ties to the Kremlin. The gifts covered a private island rental and a fireworks show in the Bahamas, ahead of Trump Jr.’s wedding to Bettina Trump. The total ran into hundreds of thousands of dollars.In the Oval Office, a reporter put the question directly to President Trump. Was it appropriate for his son to have taken money from a foreign national with Kremlin ties?But the 47th President was unconcerned.“That’s very common; I’ve heard of many people giving wedding parties. With all of that being said, I understand that Don has paid him back,” he shared.Trump Jr. and Bettina had already addressed the arrangement on social media. They called the island visit “an already planned weekend” with friends, not the actual ceremony. Ethics experts were not persuaded. Kremlev, they noted, was a friend of the couple who was not present at the wedding itself. President Trump, for his part, saw nothing wrong with it.He drew a personal comparison.“I hear he’s paid him back. A person that he knows, I guess a friend of his, they gave him a wedding party,” he added.He then said,“I’ve given wedding parties to numerous people.”