All teens have awkward moments — even if they're the son of a former president!
From a weird hand swat during a parade to a hilarious high-five fail,
Barron Trump's uncomfortable moments just happened to be seen by millions.
During Donald Trump's four years in office, the world learned a great deal about his golfing
obsession, his preference for Diet Coke, and his fondness for using all-caps in his tweets. But
the one topic that has remained a mystery has been Trump's youngest son, Barron. The
older Trump children — Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, and Tiffany — helped campaign for their father,
kept his private businesses running, and even served in his administration. But
Barron has been kept away from the public eye so that he can enjoy a normal life.
His mother, Melania Trump, is said to be especially protective of him. Her
last public acknowledgment of her son was a tweet in March 2021. Posting a photo of
balloons showing the number 15, she wrote simply, "Happy birthday BWT."
Now a teenager, Barron is a junior at the Oxbridge Academy,
a private school close to his Mar-a-Lago home. As yet, there's no indication he
intends to maintain a more public profile if his father reclaims the presidency in 2024. In fact,
Barron may fade even further into the background, since he'll likely be in college for most of the
next term. Yet, as hard as his parents have tried to preserve his privacy, there have
been a few times over the years in which the youngest Trump has been seen acting his age.
We all like to think our children hang on to every word we say, but of course, that's totally
not true. Even kids of the rich and powerful have moments where they tune Mom and Dad out.
That was the case for Barron Trump back in July of 2016, when he attended a campaign event for
his dad. Just 10 years old at the time, Barron was seated in a row with his mom and several members
of his extended family. So there was no chance for him to escape the room — or the TV cameras.
During the speech, ABC News caught Barron looking less than thrilled to hear his father talking
about political issues. He rubbed the arm of the seat with his sleeve. He yawned. He even
jiggled his water bottle. Melania briefly cast a glance at her son, but chose not to correct him
publicly. Commenters on the YouTube video were sympathetic to the preteen. One viewer wrote:
"Poor kid, he just wants to go home and play some Minecraft."
In all fairness, nobody asked Barron Trump whether he wanted to be uprooted from his
luxurious gold-and-marble Manhattan penthouse and forced to start over in D.C. Nobody gave him a
say in the rules presidential kids are expected to obey, such as having to be followed everywhere by
a Secret Service detail and not being allowed to leave the White House unattended. So if he wasn't
feeling super-enthusiastic about his father's inauguration day, we can give him a little leeway.
Following the rituals, music, and speeches of the swearing-in,
the Trump family made the traditional walk down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
Walking slightly ahead of his parents, Barron smiled and waved to the cheering crowd.
At one point, the parade turned a corner, bringing the tween next to his mother. In an awkward moment
that was caught by TV cameras, Melania reached out her left hand to Barron, who quickly swatted
it away. Perhaps he felt holding Mom's hand in public was a little too babyish for a 10-year-old.
Whatever the reason, it made for an uncomfortable moment in an otherwise triumphant day.
"And that's what's happened, bigly."
The rejected public display of affection wasn't Barron's only cringey move on Inauguration Day.
Later in the ceremony, cameras caught the newly minted First Lady trying to
connect with her son yet again. But what was meant to be a quick high-five moment turned
into a hilarious sequence of near-misses. Melania's hand went up, Barron's didn't.
She put her hand down, he put his up. She raised hers again, he turned away. Then Barron turned
back and swung, nearly smacking his mom on the arm. Perhaps if Donald Trump is elected again,
his wife and son will work on their timing for January 2025.