What The Cameras May Not Show You About Donald Trump's Relationship With Barron

It's no secret that presenting a happy, functional family life is integral to almost every politician's campaign, and Donald Trump, as unconventional a politician as he is, has done the same. His son, Donald Trump Jr., has been an integral part of his 2024 campaign, and his daughter, Ivanka Trump, served as one of his advisors during his first term in the White House. When it comes to Donald's youngest son, Barron, however, the divisive politician seems to be trying a tad too hard to convince people that they are close, and while all might seem hunky dory in front of the cameras, there are indications that their relationship is vastly different behind closed doors.

First of all, Donald wasn't even present during Barron's birth, but he can at least boast that he chose his youngest son's name. As he grew older — and ever taller — Barron Trump's father increasingly started commenting on his height, something many thought was a sign that the twice-elected president was less than pleased that his youngest was upstaging him in the height department. Donald also touched on how he thought Barron would make an excellent basketball player, but admitted his son wasn't so keen on the idea. "He said, 'Well, I like soccer, Dad, actually.' I thought ... 'At your height, I like basketball better,' but you can't talk them into everything," Donald admitted (via Hello!).

If you ask Donald Trump what his son Barron Trump should do for a living one day, he'll more likely than not tell you that he wishes to see his son follow in his footsteps. But Barron's mother, Melania Trump, might not be too keen on the idea, and it's unclear how Barron feels about the world of politics his dad so adores.

As the 2024 Republican National Convention drew closer, news broke that Barron was selected to be a delegate, something Donald appeared to be thrilled about. "[I'm] all for it," he said (via the BBC). It appears Barron's mother, however, was not, and shortly after the announcement was made, Melania released a statement of her own. "While Barron is honored to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican Party, he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments," her spokesperson said. Whether Barron truly had another obligation remains a mystery. It's not clear whether he actually wanted to attend the RNC and had his mother talk him out of it, or whether he didn't actually want to be there. He was Donald's only child who wasn't in attendance, and some of the first son's peers at NYU have said that Barron Trump's political views hint he might not totally be on his dad's side.

There's no doubt that Donald Trump is juggling multiple personalities, and the least convincing of them all is the one of Barron Trump's doting father. While one could never truly know the nature of their relationship, some of the things the former president has publicly said (or didn't say) about his son hints that he's not all that involved in Barron's life.

"We can see two different body language states when he [Barron] accompanies his mother versus when he is with his father," body language expert Judi James told the Mirror, noting that Barron often appears awkward when he's in his father's presence. James noted this is likely because of the pressure Barron experiences to live up to Donald's high expectations. "His father's status and power signals as he works the room seem to make Barron keep his distance a little rather than catching up to make his presence felt," James added.

Then there was also that one time Donald Trump seemed to forget Barron's age. The gaffe occurred during an interview with Telemundo 51 (via the BBC). "He's pretty young, I will say. He's 17," Donald said during the interview (Barron had already turned 18 at the time). Donald also seemed to try a little too hard to assure Megyn Kelly during an interview that he, Melania Trump, and Barron have a normal, peaceful family life. "Our dinners are nice dinners, our dinners are like people's dinners ... we actually get along very well," the two-term president said without being prompted on whether or not he got along with his wife and youngest son (via Hola!).

Donald Trump will likely go down in history as one of the most controversial politicians who's ever lived, and this can hardly be easy for Barron Trump, who is in the public eye solely because of his father's shenanigans. Countless awkward Donald Trump moments have been caught on camera, and Barron has to live with that. But what's even worse is some of the things his father has said about him in public. Donald once (in what had to be an absolutely mortifying moment for Barron), called his youngest son "very cute" during an interview with Telemundo 51 (via the BBC). In another interview with Philadelphia's Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, Donald said it was "sort of funny" that Barron was giving him advice for his presidential campaign.

Donald also went ahead and revealed personal information about Barron that would leave any normal teenager wanting to die of embarrassment — he commented on his son's love life during an interview on the "PBD" podcast. Eek! The president-elect said his youngest son, who is attending NYU, had never dated anyone before. "I'm not sure he's ... I don't think he's had a girlfriend yet. I don't think so," Donald said. To make matters even worse, he also confirmed Melania's former nickname for Barron, which was "Little Donald." College kids can be cruel, and we don't even want to begin to imagine the mockery Barron might've had to endure after these revelations.

Barron has also publicly had to endure Donald Trump's most awkward dancing moments. Body language expert Judi James commented on one such occasion, and told the Mirror that it was clear Barron wanted to melt into the ground and disappear. "Trump's 'dad dancing' does seem to bring on a bend of the arms and some clutching movements from Barron's hands to hint at what could be a small moment of cringe," James noted.

Donald Trump's interview with famous podcaster Joe Rogan made big waves ahead of the 2024 presidential election, and rumor has it that Barron was the one responsible for this segment of his father's campaign strategy. Apparently, Donald wouldn't even entertain the idea of doing podcast interviews without Barron's input. Sources told Time that, when his aides presented the controversial politician with a list of possible podcast options, he immediately asked whether it had been presented to Barron. When his staffer told him no, he reportedly responded, "Call Barron and see what he thinks and let me know." Jason Miller, the president-elect's senior advisor, told Politico's "Playbook Deep Dive" podcast that Barron's input had been invaluable in getting the Trump campaign crucial exposure among the younger generation. "I got to tell you, hats off to the young man. Every single recommendation he's had has turned out to be absolute ratings gold that's broken the internet. He's done a great job," Miller said.

Donald also praised Barron's input in an interview with the Daily Mail. "[I did interviews with] some people that I wasn't so familiar with, different generation. He knows every one of them. And we've had tremendous success," Donald boasted. It might be safe to say that Barron might've indirectly had a hand in his father's historic victory, and Trump fans are already expressing their hope that Barron will follow in his father's footsteps. In fact, MAGA fanatics are already selling merchandise sporting the slogan "Barron Trump President 2044."

It's no secret that Donald Trump enjoys being the center of attention, and those who try to upstage him are usually quickly cut down to size, but doing the same to Barron Trump might be a bit of a challenge for the divisive politician, although sources claim there are clear signs Trump is less than pleased that he often finds himself walking in Barron's 6-foot-7 shadow.

Journalist Michael Wolff, who wrote an entire book about Trump's shenanigans, claimed during an interview with MSNBC that Barron's height is a big sore point for his father. "[He's] jealous of everyone's height. He never lets himself be in a photograph with someone taller than he is. Height is his ... is one of his techniques. He uses his height — and, remember, Donald Trump is a very large man," Wolff claimed. The journalist also alleged that Donald and Barron have a rocky relationship. "He doesn't communicate with his son, he doesn't — his son is effectively not at all a part of his life, even though he lives with him," Wolff said.

MAGA fanatics might assume that Barron Trump worships his father and is planning on following in his footsteps, but Barron's actions have hinted that he might not actually be planning on turning into a carbon copy of his father. For instance, Barron opted to attend NYU's Stern School of Business instead of Donald Trump's alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. When asked about his son's choice of school, Donald told the Daily Mail how smart Barron was and proclaimed Stern to be an excellent choice. He didn't outright say that he was disappointed in Barron's decision nor did he seem critical of it.

What's even more interesting is that, despite his involvement in his father's 2024 presidential campaign, Barron has told his NYU classmates that he doesn't support the Democrats or the Republicans. This might simply be a strategy to avoid contention between him and his NYU peers, however. On Election Day, Barron's mother, Melania Trump, posted a photo of Barron voting for the first time on X (formerly Twitter), captioning the post, "Voted for the first time — for his dad!" Barron might be voting red now, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's planning on following in his father's footsteps in the future.