Barron Trump, Donald Trump's youngest son, has become of increasing interest to conservative political pundits and influencers.
Barron, who turned 18 in March, is former President Trump's only child with wife Melania Trump. Barron will be graduating from Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach in Florida on Friday.
Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over Donald Trump's New York City hush money criminal trial, granted the former president permission to attend the ceremony.
While his mother has been fiercely protective of Barron's privacy, commentators have begun speculating that he may enter the political limelight soon to continue his father's legacy.
The Claim
A TikTok by political commentator David Pakman, posted on May 10, 2024, included the heading "Barron Trump Officially Enters Politics."
"Barron Trump will enter politics and become a delegate at the Republican National Convention," Pakman said.
"He is now 18 years old and is entering politics, meaning we can now talk about Barron Trump and I don't say this jokingly.
"I think it's completely legitimate that just because you are the child, even of a president, if you're underage and/or not engaging in the political world, like, for example, Trump's daughter, Tiffany Trump, remember that she exists—a lot of people don't even know she exists—Tiffany Trump has, to my knowledge, opted out of being in this political public space.
"There'd really be no reason to go and evaluate things she's doing and saying. Barron Trump has been underage and has not been in politics. He's now 18, he's reportedly started to host meetings with people, he had Patrick Bet-David at Mar-a-Lago, and he's going to be a delegate at the RNC.
"He is now entering the political space, and I believe it is now time that he can be evaluated and judged for his actions and the things he does publicly."
The Facts
Donald Trump gave an update about Barron's college plans on Wednesday, remarking that his son is getting "very popular," before saying that he has continued looking at colleges.
"Right now, he's doing a great job. He has great marks. He's going to be going to college soon. And we're looking at some colleges that are different [than] they were two months ago," Trump said.
In an interview with a Pennsylvania radio station last week, the former president said that Barron gave him political advice.
"He'll tell me sometimes, 'Dad, this is what you have to do,'" Trump told Philadelphia's Talk Radio 1210 WPHT.
Barron does appear to have been interacting with voices on the political right. As Pakman mentioned, Patrick Bet-David, an Iranian-American businessman and conservative political commentator, took to social media to praise Barron after meeting with him at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
However, the notion that Barron Trump has officially moved into politics, it turns out, is incorrect.
It was announced last week that Barron would be formally stepping onto the political stage this summer as one of the 41-at-large delegates representing Florida at the Republican National Convention.
But on Friday, as reported by the Associated Press, Melania Trump's office said he would not serve.
"While Barron is honored to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican Party, he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments," Melania Trump's office said.
All of Donald Trump's other children except Ivanka Trump will serve as delegates at the mid-July GOP convention that formally nominates the Republican presidential candidate. Delegates have to be registered Republicans in Florida.
Although Barron's reported interest in politics could surely set him up for officially entering the arena in the future, for now, the plans seem to be on hold.
Pakman's claim that Tiffany Boulos (formerly Trump) has kept out of the political space is also slightly misleading.
Tiffany, the only daughter of Donald Trump and Marla Maples, has kept a lower profile than her older siblings and did not play a public political role until her father's 2016 presidential campaign. She will appear at the July GOP Convention, having spoken in support of her father's candidacy at the 2016 and 2020 conventions.
The Ruling
False.
Barron Trump has not officially entered politics. It was recently announced that Donald Trump's youngest child would become one of the 41 delegates-at-large representing Florida at this year's Republican National Convention.
However, Melania Trump's office has since said he "he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments."
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
