Inside Barron Trump's Relationship With Melania's Parents, Amalija And Viktor Knavs
Barron Trump, the only son of Former President and First Lady Donald and Melania Trump, has spent his childhood within the shadow of his family's paternal side. But as a child who spoke fluent Slovenian and even had an Eastern European accent before starting school, per Express, the influence of Barron's maternal side — including his mother, Melania, and his grandparents, Amalija and Viktor Knavs, is undeniable.
The former First Lady has always been incredibly protective over her only son, going so far as to reportedly get angry with her husband after Donald posted about Barron on his social media platform Truth Social in 2023. According to Politico, Melania's mom and dad are just as doting to their grandson, maintaining a strong presence in Barron's life throughout his time in New York, Washington, D.C., and Florida.
Considering the rumored tension between Donald Trump and his son Barron and the separation of his parents' lives as the former president vies for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, it's clear that Barron spends far more quality time with his mother and her parents.
Barron Trump stays close to his maternal family's culture and influence
Politico reported in 2017 that Melania Trump's parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, lived in Trump Tower with Melania and her son, Barron Trump, before the mother-son duo joined Donald Trump at the White House that same year. The news outlet said that in addition to their ritzy penthouse in Trump's building, the Knavses spend time in Florida at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate or in nearby Bedminster, New Jersey, at the Trump National Golf Club.
Per Daily Mail, Amalija Knavs helped her grandson learn his mother's native tongue by speaking to him in Slovenian when he was still a young boy. She also keeps Barron in touch with their culture by cooking him Slovenian food. Unlike Barron's paternal side, who have rooted themselves in the glamor of high-dollar New York real estate dealings for decades, the Knavses are considered humble and "not the kind of people to brag" by their neighbors.
Barron Trump's aunt, Ines Knavs, has also kept Barron connected to his Slovenian roots. Bojan Pozar, author of "Melania Trump — The Inside Story: The Potential First Lady," wrote, "Barron almost certainly speaks Slovenian with ... Ines, his aunt, who also lives in New York. Ines Knavs was the one who took care of all the paperwork at the Slovenia consulate in New York so that Barron could formally acquire Slovenian citizenship" (via Express).
Barron's grandparents march to the beat of their own drum like Melania
Viktor and Amalija Knavs raised their two daughters, Melania and Ines Knavs, in a small industrial town in southeastern Slovenia called Sevnica in the 1970s and 80s. Viktor and Amalija worked for Jutranjka, which employed most of the tiny village near Croatia's border. Melania's mother made patterns for the clothing, while her father was a driver for one of the company's directors. By 1984, the Knavses moved into the nice — but certainly no Trump Tower — family home they still have today, per the Daily Mail.
After obtaining U.S. citizenship, Melania sponsored her parents' green cards so that they could be in the States with her, per The New York Times. Immigrating to the U.S. with the help and sponsorship of a relative is not an uncommon process, but it is a vilified one. Nicknamed "chain migration," it is the exact type of immigration process that Donald Trump outspokenly denounced in the early years of his presidency. "CHAIN MIGRATION must end now!" The former president tweeted in 2017. "Some people come in, and they bring their whole family with them, who can be truly evil. NOT ACCEPTABLE!"
Like their daughter, it's clear that the Knavs march to the beat of their own drum, even when it's a different rhythm from their son-in-law's. And with their strong influence on and presence in Barron's life, we don't doubt Barron will be any different.