The GOP Asked Twitter To Sign Eric Trump's Birthday Card & It Bombed So Hard

On Friday, the Republican National Committee blasted out a request to its followers on its official Twitter account, asking for a certain presidential son to get a bevy of good birthday wishes. And lets just say it probably didn't go the way the RNC had hoped ― Twitter wasn't into wishing Eric Trump a happy birthday, and decided to roast, needle, and criticize the 34-year-old instead.

Let's be honest, it's no surprise that people reacted the way they did. The RNC's request, sent from the official GOP Twitter account, drew a lot of derision from the denizens of social media, both because of who they were asking people to celebrate ― the adult son of one of the most unpopular presidents in the history of American polling ― and because Eric himself is no stranger to the social media self-own. Just days ago, in fact, he sent out a tweet claiming Twitter's algorithmic suggestion that he follow Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Ellen DeGeneres was an example of the "deep state."

In short, mere moments after the RNC tweeted out the call to sign an e-card for Eric and offer a "personal message" to him, the mockery and criticism was on. Some people were just laughing and joking about it, while others seemed distinctly disturbed by the tone and tenor of the request, likening it to the sort of thing you'd see in countries far less democratic than the United States. Here are some of the best examples.

1. How Is This Normal?

2. The Independent Businessman

3. An Eccentric Family Dictatorship

4. The Happiest Of Birthdays

5. I Could Get Him This

6. This. Is. Bizarre.

7. A Birthday Card For A Private Citizen

8. Never Steal Lemonade At In-N-Out

9. Can You Coordinate Similarly For Her?

10. Happy Birthday Eric

11. It's My Daughter's Birthday

Suffice to say people looked a bit askance at the GOP's pleas for positive birthday messages for Eric, with multiple people noting that it's a strange request to make for a private citizen, and for that matter, an adult child of the president. It would be akin, basically, to the Democratic Party asking people to wish a 37-year-old Chelsea Clinton a happy birthday if her mother had won the presidency back in 2016.

It's also important to note that while the president's eldest daughter Ivanka is an actual member of the administration, holding an official job title as a presidential adviser, that's not true of Eric. Nor does reporting suggest he's been one of the president's closest advisers or confidants like Ivanka's husband, real estate scion Jared Kushner.

In fact, he's not supposed to have anything to do with the federal government, because he's supposed to be tending to the Trump Organization's business (along with his brother Don Jr.) without his father's involvement. That was part of the Trump family's stated arrangement to avoid perceptions of potential conflicts of interest in the run-up to the inauguration, although subsequent reporting has suggested that President Trump is still aware of what's going on with his businesses, in particular his Washington, D.C. hotel. For his part, the president and the administration have maintained that the commander-in-chief "can't have conflicts of interest."

In short, whatever Eric did for his 34th birthday ― and there are definitely plenty of options for someone born into such a wealthy, sprawling business empire ― it's a safe bet that the GOP's crowd-sourced birthday card wasn't the biggest highlight of his day. Eric, for the record, is the president's third child, younger than both Don Jr. and Ivanka, while older than Tiffany, who is 24, and Barron, who is 11.