Donald Trump Jr. became a regular surrogate for his father on the campaign trail. After the election, he initially said he planned to get out of politics and focus on his family’s real estate business, which he and his brother Eric were designated to run once his father took office.

Back on Circuit

But by March he was back on the fundraising circuit speaking at a GOP fundraiser in Dallas that raised $500,000. In May, shortly after he spoke to Indiana Republicans, he campaigned across Montana for Greg Gianforte, who won a special election for the congressional seat vacated by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Trump’s name was even floated in the spring as a candidate for New York City mayor or governor of the state.

Trump’s future as a force in Republican politics looked uncertain over the summer after he admitted to a meeting during the campaign with a Russian lawyer. He met with attorney after being promised damaging information from Russian government sources on campaign rival Hillary Clinton, according to an email exchange about the meeting that he made public.

Since then, Trump has become a focus of congressional and Justice Department investigations into Russian involvement in the 2016 elections. He spoke for five hours behind closed doors to congressional committee staff on Sept. 7, and Democrats have said they want him to return to the Hill for a public hearing. President Donald Trump’s re-election committee paid almost $238,000 in the third quarter to the law firm representing younger Trump in the matter, according to campaign finance disclosures.

Stirring Controversy

Part of Trump’s appeal is the controversy he stirs, said event organizers. At the University of North Texas, Trump’s hefty speaking fee and political views provoked criticism and protests are expected. A group of 87 professors called on the university to stop the event.

“That anyone associated with our university would choose to associate with Mr. Trump shows distressingly poor judgment,” the professors wrote in a letter published in the campus newspaper.

But the fight helped generate media attention and excitement for the event, Ryan said.

“He has probably been a little more controversial than I would have thought,” Ryan said. “But everyone is talking about it, for that reason I think it is an excellent choice.”