The world first became familiar with the face of Barron Trump in the early hours of November 9th, 2016. At the time he was a sleepy ten-year-old trying not to nod off on stage during Donald Trump’s election victory speech. His hair was perfectly combed and slicked into a side parting, making him look like a mini-me of his father.
Flash forward eight years and the only son the president-elect shares with his wife Melania Trump has grown a foot taller, started as a college freshman, and is seen as the brains behind Trump’s courtship of Gen Z. He is credited with helping his father gain the “bro vote” in the election, from young men who like frat parties and listening to Joe Rogan’s podcast and perhaps feel that the feminist movement has gone too far.
According to his father, Barron stands at 6 foot 9, though other reports have him at 6 foot 7. “He is a tall one, there’s no question, Trump said in June on Logan Paul’s podcast. “I say ‘Barron, I don’t want to take a picture next to you’,” Indeed, Barron Trump came crashing back into public consciousness a few weeks ago when images of the 18-year-old dwarfing his father at a campaign rally went viral. Trump stands at a respectable 6 foot 3 but looks positively Rishi Sunak-sized next to his son.
Despite his hulking stature, Barron keeps a relatively low profile. He hasn’t given any interviews and there is much speculation around what his voice is like nowadays. As a child Barron sounded much like his mother who is from Slovenia. “He spend most of the time with me, so,” Melania explained on CNN in 2010. A video resurfaced recently of a four-year-old Barron running around his father’s office, saying “I like my suitcase!” in a thick Slavic accent, before adding “I have to go to school now.” He goes up to his father who says “I want all A’s!” as he kisses him goodbye. ”And when you get older, what are you going to remember?” he asks, waggling a finger. “No drugs, no alcohol, no cigarettes. And! You know what else? No tattoos. I don’t ever want to see tattoos on you.”
It just never occurred to me that Barron Trump would have a Slovenian accent. pic.twitter.com/8XFvwWEn02
— primordial soup kitchen (@fernbirg) May 9, 2024
So far, it seems Barron has heeded his father’s rulebook. But is all that about to change now he has moved to the Big Apple for university? Barron started at the Stern School of Business at NYU in September and has already caused a stir on the famously liberal campus, which has held marches against Trump, widespread pro-Palestine protests and demonstrations around abortion rights. According to reports, Barron’s line to fellow students when quizzed on his politics was that he “didn’t support any party”. That claim was scuppered by his mother on election day when she shared a snap of Barron at the polling booth with the caption: “Voted for the first time - for his dad”.
Voted for the first time - for his dad! #18yearsold #presidentialelection #proud pic.twitter.com/kTzMFNn1AS
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) November 6, 2024
Blending in at university when your father is president-elect is no easy feat, but matters aren’t helped by the fact that Barron is driven to college in a motorcade of black SUVs, flanked by secret service agents. The 18-year-old has opted not to move into shared accommodation on NYU’s campus, instead plumping to remain in Trump Towers, where he occupies the whole floor of a penthouse.
Barron’s time in the limelight has not always been so rosy, with his mother Melania claiming in her new memoir that the media attention and rumours that surrounded him as a youngster caused “irreparable damage”. Back in 2016 there was online speculation that Barron Trump could be autistic after a video of him allegedly displaying tics associated with autism emerged.
The flames were fuelled by comedian Rosie O’Donnell, who commented “Barron Trump Autistic?” beneath the video, adding “If so — what an amazing opportunity to bring attention to the AUTISM epidemic.” At the time O’Donnell was criticised for stoking rumours around the ten-year-old. According to Melania’s memoir which was published in October, “Barron’s experience of being bullied both online and in real life following the incident is a clear indication of the irreparable damage caused.” She says she was "appalled by such cruelty," adding that “there is nothing shameful about autism (though O’Donnell’s tweet implied that there was), but Barron is not autistic.”
O’Donnell was not the only female comedian to land herself in hot water at Barron Trump’s expense. During Trump’s inauguration ceremony in January 2017, SNL writer Katie Rich tweeted “Barron will be this country’s first homeschool shooter.” The post went viral and Rich was criticised by people across the political spectrum, including Chelsea Clinton. Though she quickly deleted the post and issued an apology, she was suspended from SNL indefinitely.
Nowadays, Barron is characterised as a smart, tech-literate teen who is tapped into the cultural zeitgeist. While he does not have any public social media profiles, Barron is, according to his father, “the king of the internet.” It was he who advised Trump to appear on the podcasts of Gen Z’s bro icons like comedian Theo Von, wrestler Logan Paul, political commentator Ben Shapiro and Joe Rogan. 'He tells me about all the "hot" guys. People I've never heard of,' Trump told Fox News last month. All of them fall somewhere on the spectrum between libertarian and alt-Right, and have loyal male fanbases.
Trump appeared unruffled when one of the bro podcast hosts, Andrew Schulz, said to him “Barron is 18, he’s handsome, he’s tall, he’s rich. He’s unleashed in NYC. Are you sure you want to reverse Roe v Wade now?”. He answered in earnest that each state has its own abortion rules, which he won’t interfere with. Barron has found himself fans on both sides of the pond. Reform leader Nigel Farage praised him as “one smart kid” and said that his advice for Trump to do the podcast rounds “probably won his father the presidential election”.
How much credit Barron can take for his father’s re-election is anyone’s guess, and it is as yet unclear how involved the college freshman will be in the Trump presidency. Either way, the youngest Trump is well and truly on the political map, and fans are already calling him out as a future president. As Donald Trump said at a rally in Florida earlier this month, “Welcome to the scene, Barron.”
