False Things Everyone Believes About Barron Trump

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 — for overvaluing his assets by billions of dollars to lenders and insurers. The New York Times quoted James' suit, which called the inflated numbers "staggering" and claimed that it affected "most if not all of the real estate holdings in any given year."

Once news broke of the lawsuit, 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, as cited by Politifact, 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, "We are pleased to state that Barron Trump continues to attend Oxbridge Academy and is a member of the class of 2024."

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, "Tonight, FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!" But 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. According to NPR, Melania was relieved to see the negative result at first, but in a post on the White House website reflecting on the experience, she wrote, "I couldn't help but think 'what about tomorrow or the next day?'"

Barron later tested positive, but it was not a part of Trump's original tweet and was not as widely publicized. "Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms," Melania wrote. "In one way, I was glad the three of us went through this at the same time so we could take care of one another and spend time together. 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. Vanity Fair quoted Trump as saying the issue was important to his wife because "she's got a son." 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, and he even added "together" right after, clarifying that Barron is, of course, also his son. 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 when he said, "The first lady has got a son — together. It's a mutual son, of course. I'm very involved with the doings of it, and so is the first lady, who is a lovely mother — together — who I love and know her name so well that I won't waste your time saying it out loud." But, while it made for some amusing late-night content, it seems unlikely Trump actually forgot about his son.

While being part of the first family puts Barron Trump in the public eye, it's an unspoken rule that fellow politicians and media outlets leave minors out of critique and political debates. Anytime Barron has been brought into public discourse, his parents and others — including those from opposing political parties — have been quick to defend him.

In 2017, a "Saturday Night Live" writer made an insensitive joke about Barron on Twitter, saying, "Barron will be this country's first homeschool shooter." The offensive tweet incited a flood of backlash. The writer apologized, calling her words "inexcusable," but was still suspended from "SNL." This shows how seriously people take attacks on children, regardless of political affiliation. CNN quoted Chelsea Clinton, who had similar experiences to Barron when her father Bill Clinton became president. Despite their families coming from opposite sides of the political spectrum, Chelsea spoke up for Barron, saying, "It's high time the media and everyone leaves Barron Trump alone and lets him have the private childhood he deserves."

This sentiment of leaving minors out of public discourse has come up often. During the impeachment hearings in 2019, Pamela Karlan made a seemingly innocent remark referencing Barron's name. Barron's mother Melania Trump tweeted, "A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics. Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it."

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, "A video was posted at YouTube recently speculating that Barron might be autistic. He is not. The video includes the hashtag 'StopTheBullying,' but yet the video itself is bullying by making false statements and speculation about a 10-year-old boy for the purpose of harassing him and his parents." Following the legal threats, the video was taken down.

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: "He's not a sweatpants child ... He doesn't mind putting on [a suit] — but not every day — and he likes to dress up in a tie sometimes, like Daddy." 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, "I will say my own son Barron said, 'Dad, you were too tough. You didn't have to keep interrupting him.'" 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.