Barron Trump is the youngest son of former president Donald Trump and the only son of Melania Trump. When his father was elected the 45th president of the United States, Barron relocated from his home in New York to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., becoming the first school-aged boy living in the White House in more than five decades. There has been a great deal of scrutiny of the Trump family over the years, and Barron has been caught up in the media storm more often than not — despite his parents’ attempts to keep him out of the public eye.
Indeed, Melania has done her very best to try to keep her son’s name away from headlines and allow him to just be a kid, but that hasn’t always been easy, given the family’s fame and their subsequent dance with politics. “She is a doting mother to Barron and very protective of him,” a source told People magazine of Melania’s determination to ensure that her son is her priority. “She has always put him first. She is a good mother,” the source added. As Barron has gotten older, there have been many instances of unfortunate events in his life that will undoubtedly shape his future — and we’re taking a look at some of the most tragic details to date.
Melania Trump’s pregnancy wasn’t planned
When Melania Trump found out that she was pregnant with her first child, it came as a bit of a surprise, as she and husband Donald Trump weren’t exactly trying to start a family together so soon. Donald already had four grown children from previous relationships at the time, and starting over with a newborn in diapers didn’t seem to be at the top of his to-do list. In fact, when Melania told her husband that she was pregnant, he wasn’t exactly ecstatic.
“He came home and I told him he’d be a daddy. And his reaction was … at first he needed to take it in. It was a real surprise. And then he was very happy,” the Slovenian-American former model told People magazine in 2006. Meanwhile, Donald recalled being surprised merely because the pregnancy happened so fast. “I expected we were going to have children, so I wasn’t totally surprised. But I was surprised by the speed of it,” he told the outlet.
From the jump, Melania and Donald worked out some details about how things would be through the labor and delivery process, and one thing was mutually agreed upon: Donald wasn’t going to be in the delivery room to get the first glimpse of his son — or cut the umbilical cord. “I think it’s easier for Melania if I’m not there,” Donald explained.
Barron was born on March 20, 2006, and life would never be the same.
He has switched schools frequently
Barron Trump was thrust into the spotlight when he was extremely young, thanks to his famous parents. While protecting Barron’s safety has always been important, the child’s photo seemed to pop up all over the place – and no one can deny that he was a super cute baby.
As Barron got a bit older and started going to school, he was seen less and less, which seems to have been by design. When he was young, Barron attended Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School located in New York’s Upper West Side of Manhattan, not too far from the family’s penthouse residence at Trump Tower. But when Donald Trump decided to run for president of the United States, Barron’s life got turned upside down — even if he wasn’t keenly aware of what was going on.
When Donald was elected president on November 8, 2016, there were major changes ahead for the whole clan, especially Barron, who was forced to switch schools when his family moved to Washington, D.C. Although his mother made the decision to stay in New York until Barron finished the school year, he was enrolled at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland, forced to make all new friends and to learn a whole new routine.
However, when his father lost re-election in 2021, Barron was forced to switch schools once more — this time, in Florida. When the Trumps moved to Mar-a-Lago full-time, Barron was enrolled at Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach — class of 2024.
Barron Trump was scared to move into the White House
When Donald Trump was elected as president, Barron Trump probably didn’t realize just how much things were about to change. Aside from moving out of New York City for the first time since he was born, Barron was going to be living in the White House, followed around by Secret Service, and he would become a target for every paparazzi lens within filming distance. Indeed, it was all a bit intimidating for the then-9-year-old.
“He does love New York and he loves his school. Not so much living in the White House,” Donald told People magazine in November 2016. “I can help so many young people and that’s when he really starts to understand that it’s a good thing, not a bad thing, but it’s a little scary for him because he think he is going to be taken away from his friends,” he added.
When he moved into the White House, Barron had everything any kid could ever dream of wanting, with a bowling alley, a swimming pool, and a movie theater within walking distance of his bedroom.
But becoming the First Son wasn’t exactly an easy transition. Nevertheless, Donald and Melania Trump did whatever they could to ensure that Barron wasn’t in the public eye.