Chelsea Clinton Doesn't Hold Back On 18 Year-Old Barron Trump's Right To Privacy
Chelsea Clinton knows all too well how much pressure and criticism comes with growing up as part of a political family. The former first daughter lived in the White House from 1993 until 2001 as her father, Bill Clinton, served two terms as U.S. president. However, her brush with political fervor didn't stop when her dad left office — she experienced it yet again when her mom, Hillary Clinton, ran for president in 2016 against the man who eventually became the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump. In a 2018 interview with The Guardian, Chelsea recalled having "so much vitriol flung at me for as long as I can literally remember, people saying awful things to me even as a child," which most people would agree is unfair and even inappropriate. Because of her experience, she's sensitive to the plight of other political kids.
Trump's own children have received their fair share of attention thanks to his notoriety. Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump, and Barron Trump have all received their fair share of media interest over the years. However, it's the latter that Chelsea is now speaking out in defense of. After Barron turned 18 on March 20, 2024, former NBC executive Mike Sington hit the headlines after he seemingly suggested it was now okay to ignore Barron's right to a private life. "Barron Trump turns 18 today. He's fair game now," he wrote in a since deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter. However, Chelsea isn't taking that notion lying down. She publicly slammed anyone who felt it was appropriate to go after the son of Donald and Melania Trump just because he's now technically an adult.
Chelsea Clinton went to bat for Barron Trump on 'The View'
Despite their families being on opposite sides of the political spectrum (and having parents who don't exactly see eye to eye on a personal level either), that's not stopping Chelsea Clinton from going to bat for Barron Trump. During an appearance on "The View" on March 22, 2024, she spoke out against the idea of the media launching an attack on Barron, who's still young and vulnerable. After all, Barron is not his father, and Chelsea isn't happy about the thought Barron could be faced with a barrage of negative press through no fault of his own. "I think he's a private citizen. I feel so strongly that if you are a private citizen, you have an unimpeachable right to privacy and I think the media should leave him alone," she explained. When asked why it was okay for Donald's other kids to be tabloid fodder but not Barron, Chelsea explained that Donald's older children had all put themselves in the public eye. Barron, however, lives a much more private life than his siblings.
This isn't the first time Chelsea has used her platform to defend the children of political figures. Back in 2019, she took to X to condemn media outlets speculating about Malia Obama, the daughter of former president Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. "Malia Obama is a private citizen. No part of her life should be anyone's clickbait," Chelsea wrote at the time.