Is Trump a regular dad to Barron? Tracing POTUS' strict stance on education and warnings against smoking, drugs
Although President Donald J Trump rarely speaks about his youngest son, Barron Trump, preferring to thrust his eldest son and daughter into the spotlight most of the times, he had given the public a glimpse of the father-son dynamic, insisting that he makes sure that his 14-year-old son gets the best upbringing possible while he lives with him in the White House.
From being strict about not compromising when it comes to his son's education to warning him off vices like smoking and doing drugs, the POTUS seems to act the regular dad around his only child from his third marriage. Whatever rare titbits of information we have had about the president's relationship with Barron has mostly been through press conferences and public events.
Trump on Barron's education
In April, the president said that Barron was “in his room” and happy, “but not as happy as he could be” after his school shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic, proving that his son was a school-loving kid. ''He’d like to be playing sports,” Trump said. It was also due to his school that Barron and Melania Trump didn’t immediately move into the White House after the January 2017 inauguration, it was reported back then.
He completed the academic year at the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School in New York City and continued to live at Trump Tower in Manhattan until June 2017. “Melania goes back and forth and after Barron finishes school – because it’s hard to take a child out of school with a few months left – she and Barron will be moving over to the White House,” Trump said at a press briefing, explaining in February 2017 why Barron still hadn’t moved to Washington D.C.
No smoking or drugs
Just like any concerned parent, Trump has tried to keep his son away from bad habits and addictions like smoking and doing drugs. Back in September last year, when there was an emergence of a vaping health crisis, Trump revealed that he and his wife had warned Barron, “don’t vape.” Also, in June 2019, Trump asked his wife to speak publicly about the American opioid epidemic, stressing on the fact that they, as parents, want to “make sure that Barron doesn’t have problems.”
Trump, the embarrassing dad
All dads go through the phase where they knowingly or unknowingly end up embarrassing their kids. Except for Trump, it meant a very public and infamous impeachment proceeding being launched against him for allegedly having had colluded with the Russians during the 2016 election. Following an impeachment trial, which acquitted him, he said in February addressing all his kids, “I want to apologize to my family,” Trump said. “Ivanka is here … my sons and my whole family, and that includes Barron … who is up there as a young boy.”
Trump is proud of Barron's height
Barron's height has been a topic of discussion for the past year in social media as he appeared to tower over his dad, every time they were spotted out in the open. This was especially startling since Trump is 5' 6''. Although Barron's exact height is not known, Trump has hinted at how tall Barron could be when he was talking to a man, who was six foot, eight inches, during a ceremony for hard work and heroism in May. “That’s a good height,” he told real estate agent Rafael Melo. “I have a son that looks like he’s going to be right around that number: Barron.”