Donald Trump pushed a button last year he will never be able to take back. He’s sent his 18 year son into battle.
Last year, Trump declared on social media that Barron, then 17, was smarter than Joe Biden. That nudged open the door to the press writing about Barron.
But now Trump is sending Barron (and most of his other kids) to the Republican convention as a delegate. Barron is now 18, and the hands off policy is over.
Today there’s a barrage of planted publicity about Barron being a great guy with political ambitions. The Daily Mail has fawned all over him, so much that you’d think he’s John John Kennedy.
He’s not.
The Trumps should be more protective of Barron. For one thing, no one beyond his family and friends has ever heard Barron’s voice. There may be a two second clip on YouTube caught by a long mic. But otherwise, Barron appears in public most of the time scowling. He rarely smiles. Yes, at 6 foot 7, he towers over the family. But either he has permanent indigestion or he has not enjoyed his teen years.
Back in 2016, when Barron was in school here in New York, I was told by parents of his classmates that he had trouble speaking English. He’d spent so much time with Melania’s parents that his first language was Slovenian.
His subsequent schooling in Washington, then Palm Beach, has been closely guarded. As a high school senior he should have announced his college plans already. Alas, it’s all been crickets.
There’s some speculation he’ll go to NYU, but that seems implausible. He’s been tied to his mother’s diamond bracelets his whole life. Will he really commute down to the school everyday by limo from Trump Tower? That seems like it would be fairly disruptive for his fellow students, and their teachers.
And don’t think the paparazzi will follow Barron everywhere, every minute of the day.
