Is it sibling rivalry, or is there more to Barron and Eric Trump's apparent lack of a relationship?
Being a teenager is tough enough. Being a teenager whose father is Donald Trump has
got to be even tougher. Combine those two with your dad being president and having to grow up
in the White House in the public spotlight, and you're looking at a teen angst trifecta.
You'd think all the Trump kids would stick together and support each other. However, some say
it seems like Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric are the main show, Tiffany's an afterthought, and Barron's
out on his own. The vast age differences probably don't help. According to Business Insider,
Barron was 10 when Donald became President, while Don Jr. was 39, Ivanka was 35, and Eric was 32.
Still, Barron and Don Jr.'s relationship appears to be
at least semi-existent. They were seen fist-bumping at the 2016 RNC,
and Don Jr. attacked Peter Fonda over an off-color tweet regarding Barron.
Don Jr. accused Fonda of being "a bully and a coward" and seemingly
suggested a fight after Fonda wrote that Melania's son should be,
quote, "put in a cage with pedophiles," according to AP News.
Barron's relationship with Ivanka also seems half-decent. She defended her
little bro after he was attacked by social media fashion police. Ivanka told Dr. Oz,
"He's a young boy trying his best to acclimate in a surreal environment."
After Barron appeared on "Celebrity Apprentice" in 2010, Ivanka raved about him, tweeting,
"Isn't Barron adorable!! He's got a great golf swing too!"
Don Jr. has stood up for Barron — but he's also used him as a political pawn. He once tweeted,
"In all fairness, Joe Biden is not capable of debating Barron Trump, let alone Donald Trump."
Meanwhile, Tiffany is all about the love. She captioned a social
media post for Barron's birthday with:
"Happy 14th birthday to the best 'little' brother I could ever ask for! You mean
so much to me, Barron. I wish you all the happiness in the world! Love you."
But as for Eric and Barron's relationship? Crickets.
The documentary "Unprecedented" claims Donald pitted his three
oldest children against each other. Ivanka's always been the favorite,
so Don Jr. and Eric were left vying for their dad's attention. During a Reddit AMA session,
filmmaker Alex Holder claimed Eric was the least like his father and appeared "scared" of Don Jr.
However, Eric always managed to come first in the height competition — until
Barron stole that from him, as their dad gleefully pointed out.
"Barron is 6-foot-7, can you believe it? And he's 15."
Donald then took the opportunity to jokingly take a jab at his other son.
"And Eric is short — he's only 6-foot-6."
Eric addressed his father's apparent pride in Barron's
height on the "First Class Fatherhood" podcast.
"Well I'm very mad at Barron because I was
the tallest guy in my family until he came along. My father calls me the short son now."
He also revealed that his kids get along swimmingly with their Uncle Barron.
"He's nice, he's funny, he's kind, he's massively tall."
Eric has learned the value of having an older sibling who
looks out for you. Speaking to The New York Times in 2006, he said of Don Jr.,
"Donnie's always been my best friend, a mentor. In a way, he raised me."
By all appearances, Eric's relationship with Barron is much different,
but he did get a touch protective of his much-younger brother while discussing how
he and his adult siblings handle media criticism. He told Westchester magazine,
"We are adults; we've developed a bit of an armor,
but Barron and Tiffany should be 100 percent off-limits."
However, don't count out a future sibling rivalry — according to The Washington Post, Melania
insists that her son is exactly like his combative father, even calling Barron "little Donald."
"Barron Trump. A legend."