Lara Trump, singer of ‘I Won’t Back Down’, backs down from race to replace Florida senator Marco Rubio

US President-elect Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who sparked speculation she could be eyeing up Marco Rubio’s Senate seat in Florida when she resigned as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) earlier this month, has confirmed she won’t be vying for selection after all.

Rubio has been tapped by Trump to serve as his secretary of state, with Florida governor Ron DeSantis now looking for someone to carry out the rest of Rubio’s Senate term until it expires in 2026.

And Ms Trump had said to the Associated Press earlier this month that being a Florida senator is something she would “seriously consider”.

But now, in a post shared to Twitter/X on Saturday, Ms Trump wrote: “After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate.

“I could not have been more honoured to serve as RNC co-chair during the most high-stakes election of our lifetime and I’m truly humbled by the unbelievable support shown to me by the people of our country, and here in the great state of Florida. I have read so many of your kind messages and I cannot thank you enough.

“I remain incredibly passionate about public service and look forward to serving our country again sometime in the future. In the meantime, I wish Governor DeSantis the best of luck with this appointment.”

She also teased a “big announcement” in January, and told her followers to “stay tuned”.

Though, as the right-wing monitoring account PatriotTakes pointed out, the singer who put out a cover of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” last year has… well… done exactly that:

There’s also those who have taken this to mean DeSantis definitely wasn’t going to pick Trump:

While others have used the tweet to share their own unsuccessful bids for roles they would never be offered:

"After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I will not quarterback the Kansas City Chiefs next season," another user wrote.

Now there are fears this decision – and the news next month – means Ms Trump will return to making more music, with Twitter/X users already begging the ex-RNC chair not to release a new album.

Ms Trump’s music career has been brutally mocked in the past, with many using photos of Donald Trump’s bloodied or bandaged ear after the Butler assassination attempt to describe what it’s like to listen to her music.

Ouch.

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