What We Know About Barron And Eric Trump's Relationship
Being a teenager is tough enough. Being a teenager whose father is Donald Trump has got to be even tougher. Combine those two with your dad being president and having to grow up in the White House in the public spotlight, and you're looking at a teen angst trifecta. You'd think all the Trump kids would stick together and support each other. They may be a combination of full and half-siblings, but they're all family and share the same father.
However, it seems like Tiffany Trump's an afterthought, Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump are the main show, and Barron's out on his own. The vast age differences probably don't help. Per Business Insider, Barron was 10 when Donald became POTUS, while Don Jr. was 39, Ivanka was 35, and Eric was 32. Still, Barron and Don Jr.'s relationship appears to be at least semi-existent. They were fist-bumping at the 2016 RNC, and Don Jr. attacked Peter Fonda over an off-color tweet (via The AP) regarding Barron. Don Jr. accused Fonda of being "a bully and a coward" and seemingly suggested a fight after Fonda wrote that Melania Trump's son should be "put in a cage with pedophiles."
Barron's relationship with Ivanka also seems half-decent. She defended her little bro after he was attacked by social media fashion police. "He's a young boy trying his best to acclimate in a surreal environment," Ivanka told Dr. Oz (via People). However, Barron and Eric Trump's relationship appears to be totally non-existent.
Eric Trump seems to keep his distance from Barron
After Barron Trump appeared on "Celebrity Apprentice" in 2010, Ivanka Trump raved. "Isn't Barron adorable!! He's got a great golf swing too!" She tweeted. Don Jr. Trump has stood up for Barron, but he's also used him as a political pawn. "In all fairness, Joe Biden is not capable of debating Barron Trump, let alone Donald Trump," he tweeted. Meanwhile, Tiffany Trump is all about love. "Happy 14th birthday to the best 'little' brother I could ever ask for! You mean so much to me, Barron. I wish you all the happiness in the world! Love you," she captioned a pic of Don Jr. semi-strangling Barron in a headlock while his siblings pose and smile. But Eric Trump and Barron's relationship? Crickets.
The documentary "Unprecedented" (via Insider) claims Donald pitted his three oldest children against each other. Ivanka's always been the favorite, so Don Jr. and Eric were left vying for their dad's attention. During a Reddit AMA session (via Insider), filmmaker Alex Holder claimed Eric was the least like his father and appeared "scared" of Don Jr.
However, Eric always managed to come first in the height stakes until Barron stole that from him, as their dad gleefully pointed out. "Barron is 6-foot-7, can you believe it? And he's 15," the ex-POTUS said during a GOP event. "Eric is short — he's only 6-foot-6." So is it sibling rivalry, or is there more to Barron and Eric's apparent lack of relationship?
Eric Trump's rare comments about Barron Trump
Eric Trump addressed his father's apparent pride in Barron Trump's height on the "First Class Fatherhood" podcast. "I'm very mad at Barron because I was the tallest guy in my family until he came along," said Eric. "My father calls me the short son now." He also revealed that his kids, son Eric "Luke" Trump and daughter Carolina Trump, get along swimmingly with their Uncle Barron. "He's nice, he's funny, he's kind, he's massively tall," Eric said of his younger brother. However, despite Barron towering over Luke, Eric said that the family members his son looks up to most are his cousins – the children of Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, and the children of Donald Trump Jr. and his ex-wife, Vanessa Trump.
Eric has learned the value of having an older sibling who looks out for you. Speaking to The New York Times in 2006, he said of Don Jr., "Donnie's always been my best friend, a mentor. In a way, he raised me." By all appearances, Eric's relationship with Barron is much different, but he did get a touch protective of his much-younger brother while discussing how he and his adult siblings handle media criticism. He told Westchester magazine, "We are adults; we've developed a bit of an armor, but Barron and Tiffany should be 100 percent off-limits."
However, don't count out a future sibling rivalry — per The Washington Post, Melania Trump insists that her son is exactly like his combative father, even calling Barron "little Donald."