Inside Barron Trump's Relationship With His Older Siblings
While the world knows the name of the youngest Trump sibling as Barron Trump, little else seems to be really known about him. Still, a very brief glimpse into Barron's life can be had, if just by looking at his relationships with the eldest Trump siblings. In order of birth, they include Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, and Tiffany Trump, per Business Insider.
Barron's mother is, of course, former-model Melania Trump née Knauss. However only the eldest three Trump siblings — Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric — share the same biological mother, that being Ivana Trump née Zelníčková, who was married to Donald Trump from April 1977 until March 1992. Tiffany, one of the slightly quieter Trumps, and Barron's next oldest sibling, was the product of the short marriage between Donald and Marla Maples that lasted from 1993 until 1999, People.
But being the youngest child of such a powerful dynasty can come with its own share of great privileges and challenges. When it comes to family, just how tight are the Trumps? Here's everything to know about Barron Trump's relationship with his older siblings.
He participates in family events out of the limelight
Barron Trump was born on March 20th, 2006. The one and only child produced in the union of Donald and Melania, his existence has long been sheltered from cameras, along with the rest of the world. Throughout his young life, the youngest Trump's public appearances have been sporadic at best.
Still, as a toddler, Barron would make yearly appearances alongside his mom — and occasionally his dad, too — at the annual Bunny Hop event at New York City's FAO Schwartz. In 2010, he was even featured in a "Larry King Live" special about the family for CNN, where the four-year-old was described as a future businessman and pro-golfer by his proud father.
As noted by Town & Country, in 2018, Barron was seen at the White House's annual egg roll alongside many of his older siblings and various nieces and nephews. However, he didn't look too comfortable at the public event, choosing to spectate the proceedings rather than participate in them. Still, by all appearances, the youngest Trump sibling seemed to have a good time. By all accounts, he has seemingly been protected from the limelight over the years — and perhaps more so than his older siblings were at a similar age.
Donald Trump Jr. defended his younger sibling
So, how does Barron exactly relate to his much older siblings? No need to look much further than with the eldest of the Trump children, Donald Trump, Jr. Born on December 31st, 1977, to Donald and Ivana Trump, the Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization leads the Trump siblings. As the first of the Trump children to grow up not only in the limelight but in their father's shadow, Donald Jr. could be the perfect role model for Barron.
While some may be inclined to assume that the mythical fist bump that occurred between Barron and his eldest brother at the 2016 Republican convention was a showcase of the bond the two Trump children have, the moment could have also been read as more of a photo-op than a moment between close siblings. Especially since any kind of social media posts featuring the pair have been few and far between since.
Still, two years later Donald Jr. defended his younger sibling during a Twitter beef with actor, Peter Fonda. While criticizing the then-president's highly contentious family separation policy, the "Easy Rider" star wrote an inflammatory tweet (via The New York Times) suggesting that Barron should be torn away from his mother and thrown in a cage like some children under the policy. Fonda deleted the post and apologized. Regardless, Donald Jr. responded by tweeting, "Rather than attack an 11-year-old like a bully and a coward why don't you pick on someone a bit bigger."
Ivanka is a protective older sister
Then there's Barron's eldest sister, Ivanka. The second child of Trump's marriage to Ivana, Donald Trump's former presidential advisor was born on October 30th, 1981. By all accounts, her relationship with Barron appears to be very similar to that of their older brother, Donald Jr.
In January 2017, during then-President Donald Trump's first executive bill signing, Barron could be seen playing peek-a-boo with Ivanka's infant son, Theodore, just behind his father's back. On Twitter, Donald's second child expressed her appreciation for Barron's affectionate moment, writing of the moment, "My youngest brother proves he's a baby whisperer."
Like Donald Jr., Ivanka made a public statement defending her younger sibling against critics later that year. On an episode of "The Dr. Oz Show" (via People), she addressed the mockery that had been aimed at the then-11-year-old White House resident for his decision to wear casual attire on Air Force One. "He's a young boy trying his best to acclimate in a surreal environment," she said. "... Barron should be off limits."
Do Eric and Barron have much of a relationship?
Unfortunately, not a whole lot can be noted about the relationship between Barron and Eric Trump, the youngest of the Ivana Trump siblings. Born on January 6th, 1984, and yet another one of those Executive Vice Presidents of the Trump Organization, Eric's public interactions with his youngest sibling have been extremely limited. And while Donald Jr. and Ivanka's children have enjoyed some wholesome interactions with Barron, there isn't much documentation of him also enjoying similar interactions with Eric's two children, born in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
Meanwhile, Barron appears to be much closer to his half-sister, Tiffany Trump. Born on October 13th, 1993 to Donald Trump and Marla Maples, he's at least the closest in age to Donald Trump's youngest daughter. Not being part of the Ivana sibling clique, Tiffany and Barron also had that much in common. But with such older siblings, and being of such a young age, Barron found himself pretty much an only child when he and his mother, Melania finally moved into the White House back in 2017.
Tiffany and Barron Trump seem close
While Barron Trump might have found himself wandering the White House's Rose Gardens by his lonesome on many a night, he still had a sibling in the neighborhood. During Donald Trump's presidency, Tiffany Trump was attending Georgetown University located in Washington D.C. During her tenure there, South China Morning Post reported that Tiffany would often check in on Barron. In 2020, she even gave him a birthday shoutout on Instagram, writing, "Happy 14th birthday to the best 'little' brother I could ever ask for!" A year later, she followed it up with yet another Instagram post celebrating her younger sibling's birthday, this time featuring a cute throwback picture of the two of them laughing together with a gigantic Minnie Mouse plush toy.
So why the nearly non-existent relationship with the older Trump siblings? Rumors suggest there may be friction within the family. Per CNN, in 2019, the book, "Free, Melania: The Unauthorized Biography" speculated that there was long-held tension between Donald Trump's wife and his oldest daughter, Ivanka (a spokesperson for Melania told the outlet that the two have always maintained a close relationship).
In 2017, Newsweek published newly archive recordings from an episode of "The Howard Stern Show" in which Donald Trump appeared to suggest that Ivanka and Donald Jr. weren't happy when Barron was born. Why? Because their inheritance would be downsized with the arrival of another Trump. If true, it's not hard to imagine Melania keeping a firm hand on Barron's shoulder.
Barron Trump is growing up
Clearly, Melania Trump intends to keep her son safe from the world's prying eyes. In 2018, she told CBS that Barron still didn't have any kind of social media presence, stating, simply, "I teach him what is right, what is wrong ... He's not interested in [social media]. He's all into sport."
Appearing to be hands-on in the raising of her son, Melania seems determined to have a proper influence on Barron's life. When he was just a baby, for instance, she and Donald Trump refused to be over-reliant on nannies, with her husband telling People, "If you have too much help, you don't get to know your children." Meanwhile, in 2015, she told Parenting.com (via Insider) that her son was her absolute priority. "I am a full-time mom; that is my first job," she said. "The most important job ever. I started my business when he started school." Now that Barron is well into his teens, perhaps the coming years will see Melania's only son come into his own. How that will affect his relationship with his older siblings remains to be seen.