Is Lara Trump Jewish?

Eric Trump's wife Lara Trump is not Jewish?

Following an announcement by the couple that they were expecting a baby boy, it seems Jewish media outlets went into a bit of a baby frenzy.

The false impression that Lara Trump (nee Yunaska), a former personal trainer and producer for CBS’s “Inside Edition,” is Jewish seems to trace back to a 2014 Page Six article in the New York Post that said the couple wed under “a crystal-embellished chuppa” (with Jewish brother-in-law Jared Kushner officiating). It’s not clear whether the canopy was, in fact, inspired by Jewish custom, but following the publication of that article, Jewish media outlets (along with some anti-Semitic ones) referred to her as Jewish.

Ethnicelebs.com, a website that traces the ancestry of celebrities, debunked the claim in July — reporting Lara instead to be of Slovak, English, German, remote Swiss-German and Dutch heritage — but that didn’t put the rumor to rest.

Lara and Eric’s baby will still be surrounded by plenty of Jewish influences. He will have three Jewish cousins: the children of Trump’s daughter Ivanka, a convert to Orthodox Judaism, and her husband, Jared. Plus, another Trump daughter, Tiffany, is dating Ross Mechanic, who is Jewish.

Is Steven Mnuchin Jewish?

Steven Mnuchin is Jewish. The businessman and investor has been tapped by President-Elect Donald Trump to serve as Treasury Secretary in the Trump Administration. Steven Mnuchin was born on December 21, 1962 in New York City, to a Jewish family. He is the son of Elaine Terner Cooper, of New York, and Robert E. Mnuchin, of Washington, Connecticut. His father was a banker, a partner at Goldman Sachs, in charge of equity trading and a member of the management committee, and the founder of the Mnuchin Gallery at 45 East 78th Street, New York. He graduated from Yale University Married twice, Mnuchin is engaged to Scottish actress Louise Linton.

Mnuchin’s unusual last name is considered a Slavic version of the biblical name "Menachem," meaning "one who comforts" and a common Hebrew first and last name. The violinist Yehudi Menuhin’s original family name was Mnuchin but was changed by his Belorussian immigrant parents when they became American citizens.

Mnuchin is the first Jewish member of Trump's cabinet. He is also the business partner of a close friend and confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Australian billionaire James Packer.

According to an article in Ha'aretz, "Despite his background, Mnuchin appears to have no public connection to Jewish life or Jewish institutions – his preferred philanthropies appear to be the Whitney Museum of American Art and the New York food rescue organization City Harvest."

A Bloomberg Businessweek profile stated, "Trump tweeted an image of Clinton, a pile of cash, and a six-pointed star – a graphic that was previously posted on an anti-Semitic website. At some point on the job, Mnuchin got a call from a Holocaust survivor he knows. It went to voicemail, where the man told him how upset he is that Mnuchin supports Trump. He called the survivor back to say he respectfully disagreed. The article quoted Mnuchin’s friends and colleagues as saying it was hard for them to comprehend why someone like Mnuchin would take the job of raising money for Trump back when it looked like a difficult and thankless task. Trump’s likelihood of winning the Republican nomination and defeating Hillary Clinton seemed remote."

Is Stephen Bannon Jewish?

Stephen Bannon is not Jewish. Steve Bannon is an American businessman and media executive. He is the executive chairman of Breitbart News, a politically conservative American news, opinion and commentary website noted for its connection to the alt-right. He became chief executive officer of the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump in August 2016. Bannon will be chief strategist and Senior Counselor for the Presidency of Donald Trump.