School rejected him, family isolated him, and dad forgot him – Barron Trump myths
are everywhere, but you don’t need Shaggy or Scooby-Doo to figure out which ones are true!
Former President Donald J. Trump has faced multiple accusations of fraud in regard to
his finances over the years.
Recently, those accusations came to a head when Attorney General Letitia James of New
York filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, his business, and three of his children — Donald
Jr., Eric, and Ivanka.
"I am announcing that today, we are filing a lawsuit against Donald Trump for violating
the law."
The lawsuit claimed Trump had overvalued his assets by billions of dollars to lenders and insurers.
Once the news broke, it didn't take long for a Facebook post to go up, claiming that the
fraudulent finances had impacted the education of Trump's youngest son, Barron.
According to the post, Barron had been "kicked out" of school for unpaid fees.
Due to the speculation surrounding Trump's finances, many were prone to believe the rumor,
but the claims were false.
Following the 2020 election and the Trump family's move from Washington D.C. to Florida,
Barron Trump did change schools.
He now attends Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida, for which the tuition and
fees are $35,000.
Presumably, those fees have been paid.
The school's Director of Advancement Scott Siegfried told Politifact:
This rumor was partially true, but it sounds a lot more dramatic than it was in reality.
Following President Donald Trump's election in 2016, many were surprised by the news that
Melania and Barron Trump would not be moving to Washington D.C.
They instead were staying in their Trump Tower penthouse in New York City.
While some thought this signaled a rift in the first family, the separation was only
for a few months while Barron finished school.
"It’s been confirmed that Melania Trump will not move to the White House until next
Summer because she wants 10 year old Barron to finish the school year."
As a source told the New York Post:
Because of that, the family decided to let Barron finish out his school year at the New
York private school he'd been attending rather than transferring to a new D.C. school mid-year.
Another source told People that while Melania was fully supportive of her husband and committed
to her duties as a first lady, her first priority was her son.
In October 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was having an upward swing in the U.S., and news
of the president and the first lady contracting the virus was dominating headlines.
Donald Trump confirmed testing positive for the virus via a tweet, which stated:
While the president and first lady's diagnosis was big news around the country, many were
unaware that Barron Trump, who was 14 at the time, also tested positive for the virus.
When Barron was first tested for the virus, it came back negative.
Melania Trump wrote about her experience with the virus and how one of her worst fears was
her son getting it.
Barron later tested positive, but it was not a part of Trump's original tweet and was not
as widely publicized.
"She writes that Barron is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms and he has since
tested negative!"
This particular rumor started when Donald Trump came out against vaping in 2019.
The president wanted to ban flavored e-cigarettes after a string of deaths caused by lung illnesses.
Speaking out against e-cigarettes, Trump discussed how the marketing for the products specifically
targets teens, but he slipped when trying to include his son with Melania Trump, Barron,
in the mix.
"She’s got a son, together that is a beautiful young man."
Many were quick to notice that his phrasing made it seem like Barron was just Melania's
child when he is also the president's son.
It was likely just a slip of the tongue, but late-night hosts still poked fun at the president
for that slip-up.
On "The Daily Show," Trevor Noah joked about the incident, saying:
"She's got a son?
You mean, the son she made with you?"
And over on "The Late Show," Stephen Colbert made a Donald Trump impression, saying:
"The first lady has got a son — together.
It's a mutual son, of course.
I'm very involved with the doings of it."
But, while it made for some amusing late-night content, it seems unlikely Trump actually
forgot about his son.
During Donald Trump's time in the White House, there were several key presidential events
from which his son, Barron, was notably absent.
Even as his father's term was coming to a close, the Daily Mail reported that he was
not at President Trump's farewell speech, an event where the rest of the family, including
Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, and Tiffany, were all present.
People reported that he was also missing when the former president and first lady left the
White House.
While Barron's absence from such major events may seem strange, it was likely strategic.
Barron is the youngest of Trump's children, and Melania Trump has proven how protective
she is of him.
She has spoken about doing her best to keep her son out of the public discussion, telling
Fox News:
"I protect him, and I want to give him normal life as possible.
This is not normal life."
It's no secret at this point that Melania Trump is a fierce protector of her son, Barron,
and when this particular rumor began circulating, she was ready to go to court for him.
In 2016, a YouTube video began circulating suggesting that Barron Trump might be autistic.
The video, which garnered millions of views, showed clips of Barron and cited various mannerisms,
such as the way he claps, as evidence of his supposed autism.
Barron Trump was 10 at the time, and while the original poster claimed it was to make
people stop bullying.
Melania felt it had the opposite effect and threatened to sue if the video was not taken down.
A legal representative of the Trump family, Charles Harder, made a statement to The Wrap
about the situation, saying:
Following the legal threats, the video was taken down.
In 2018, Melania Trump revealed that Barron Trump is "all into sports" while speaking
at Liberty University.
He seems to have a particular interest in soccer, as The Sun reported him playing for
Arlington Soccer Association's under-14 and DC United's under-12 teams.
However, his parents hope he won't play football.
While speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation," Donald Trump shared his safety concerns about
the sport, saying he wasn’t fond of the reports coming out about football's safety regulations.
As Donald Trump states it, while the equipment got better it hasn’t solved the root problem.
He ultimately admitted on “Face the Nation” that if Barron decided to take on the sport:
The concerns Trump raised have become common with many parents, as more studies have come
out showing the possible brain damage caused by the contact sport.
Even former football players like quarterback Brett Favre have warned against letting young
children play tackle football.
However, while Trump voiced his concern about the sport, he didn't draw a hard-line rule
keeping Barron from playing.
When asked if Barron could play, Trump said:
Back in 2013, Melania Trump spoke to ABC about her son Barron and how he was like his father
in many ways.
She talked about how the then-young Barron didn't mind getting dressed for an occasion:
"How do you look – I don’t see any difference!"
Later, speaking to the outlet, Melania famously said she calls Barron her "Mini-Donald."
However, as Barron has grown up, he's started differentiating himself from his father, just
as any teenager would.
He even criticized his father's conduct during the 2020 presidential debates.
The Daily Mail quoted an excerpt from "Rigged: How the Media, Big Tech, and the Democrats
Seized Our Elections" by Fox commentator Mollie Hemingway.
In the section of the book, Trump told Hemingway:
This is one of many ways we can see Barron growing up and becoming his own person.
And at this point, calling Barron a "mini" anything seems wrong.
Though still a teenager, the former president's son now towers over Donald and Melania Trump.
Many have been shocked to see Barron standing at 6 feet, 7 inches in recent photos.
He's already a few inches taller than his father and completely grown up from the young
boy who first entered the White House.