President Trump youngest son Barron, 18, took center stage at his father’s inauguration on Monday.
Standing 6’9″, many visitors and onlookers have noted how much more mature the younger Trump has become since his father first took office in January 2017.
At the age of 10, Barron Trump was often the victim of cruel jokes and rumors from his father’s critics. His mother, Melania Trump, tried to shield him from unwanted scrutiny, though sometimes to no avail.
On Monday, the first son commanded the respect of onlookers as he stood by his father during the inauguration ceremony. Here’s how Barron Trump has grown since 2017.
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in 2017
At the age of 10, Barron Trump became the first son of John F. Kennedy Jr. to live in the White House. in 1961.
Barron, who turned 11 in March 2017, was also living in Trump Tower in New York at the same time, attending Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School on the Upper West Side.
In early 2016, there were rumors that Barron Trump might have autism, which comedian Rosie O’Donnell amplified. In 2024, Melania Trump said the rumors deeply affected her son, who was bullied at school.
“I was appalled by such cruelty” Melania Trump she wrote in her memoirs. “It was clear to me that she was not interested in raising awareness about autism. I felt that she was attacking my son because she did not like my husband.”
“There is nothing shameful about autism (even though O’Donnell’s tweet implied there is), but Barron is not autistic,” she added. “Barron’s experience of bullying both online and in real life following the incident is a clear indication of irreparable damage.”
Barron Trump is seen with his mother Melania on the west front of the Capitol before his father Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States on January 20, 2017. (Tom Williams/CQ roll call)
2018
Barron turned 12 in March 2018 and has continued to be a frequent target of Trump’s enemies.
Actor Peter Fonda called on officials to “tear Barron Trump from his mother’s arms and put him in a cage with pedophiles.” He later apologized for his remarks.
“I tweeted something very inappropriate and vulgar about the president and his family in response to a devastating image I saw on television,” Fonda said in a statement shortly afterward. “Like many Americans, I am very passionate and distraught about the situation of children being separated from their families at the border, but I have gone too far.”
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and son Barron Trump cross the South Lawn of the White House on November 25, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Zach Gibson-Pool/Getty Images)
in 2019
Barron was 13 when his family moved permanently to Mar-a-Lago in 2019. That year, Trump said it would be “difficult” for him to let his son play football.
“I just don’t like the reporting that I’m seeing about football — I mean, it’s a dangerous sport and I think it’s really tough,” Trump said at the time. “I thought the gear would get better, and it did. The helmets got a lot better, but that didn’t solve the problem.”
During a 2019 House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing, Stanford law professor Pamela Karlan noted that then-President Trump could “nominate his son Barron, he can’t make him a baron.”
Melania Trump was upset that her young son was mentioned in the hearing.
“A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics,” the first lady tweeted at the time. “Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of yourself for your very angry and obviously biased public shaming and using a child to do it.”
President Trump, center, waves as he walks with first lady Melania Trump, right, and son Barron Trump on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in Washington, DC, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
in 2020
As Trump fought for his re-election in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic shook the United States, Barron Trump continued to attend school and stayed out of the public eye. In 2020, “Jeopardy” host Ken Jennings told as a joke he told Barron’s in 2017.
“Barron saw a very long tie and a bunch of expired deli meat in a dumpster,” Jennings tweeted at the time. “He thought it was his dad and his little heart is breaking.”
“Hey, I just wanted to acknowledge the fact that I’ve definitely tweeted some shit over the years [sic] and insensitive things,” Jennings wrote in 2020. “Sometimes they felt like jokes in my head and I was horrified to see them read on the screen.”
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Barron Trump, from right, US first lady Melania Trump, President Trump and Tiffany Trump stand outside the White House during the Republican National Convention on the South Lawn in Washington, DC, Thursday, August 27, 2020. (Erin Scott/Polaris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
in 2021
Barron Trump was 14 when his father left office in January. He lived with his mother at Mar-a-Lago full-time and stayed out of the limelight.
In July 2021, he was seen leaving Trump Tower with Melania Trump.
Melania Trump and son Barron Trump leave Trump Tower in Manhattan on July 7, 2021 in New York. (James Devaney/GC Images)
in 2022
Barron Trump was 16 years old when FBI agents raided his father’s estate in Florida. During this year, he kept a low profile, but was seen in public with both parents at the funeral of Ivana Trump, Trump’s first wife, in July 2022.
In November 2022, his father announced his offer for the president.
Donald Trump, Melania Trump and Barron Trump are seen at the funeral of Ivana Trump on July 20, 2022 in New York. (JNI/Star Max/GC images)
in 2023
As President Trump’s campaign resumed in 2023, Barron continued to be absent from the public eye. In August of that year, a picture of his father was published.
A Secret Service agent guards the Mar-a-Lago home of former President Donald Trump on March 21, 2023 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
in 2024
Barron Trump graduated from New York University (NYU) in the fall of 2024. He graduated from Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach in May and has been seen attending classes at NYU’S Stern School of Business.
He voted for the first time in November. casting a ballot for his father in Florida.
Barron Trump leaves NYU’s Stern School of Business in New York, NY on Wednesday, September 4, 2024. (Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
in 2025
Barron looked sharp as he attended his father’s inauguration on January 20. Later in the day, he waved to the crowd after his father mentioned his role in the 2024 campaign.
“I have a very tall son called Barron. Has anyone ever heard of him?” Trump said to cheers as the first son waved to those in attendance.
“He knew the youth vote. You know, we won the youth vote by 36 points … He said, ‘Dad, you’ve got to get out, do Joe Rogan, do all those guys,'” Trump recalled. “We did, we did. And Joe Rogan was great.”
The 18-year-old also wowed those in attendance when he shook hands with President Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris, with some social media users speculating that he might pursue a political career in the future.
“Barron Trump just shook hands with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” one X user wrote. “This kid is going to be our president one day. You bet.”
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Barron Trump at his father’s inauguration on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC (Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS)
“Barron Trump is a natural,” another said of Barron. “Completely owned the moment.”
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Curto and Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report.
