World

Barron for president in 2044? Why Trump dynasty may look to youngest son

11/17/2024

American presidents must be citizens, born in the US, a resident in the country for 14 years, and at least 35 years of age.

Barron William Trump was born in Florida on 20 March 2006.

He is the only child of Melania and Donald Trump, who has fathered four other children by his two previous wives.

Barron has lived between Florida, New York City and Washington DC all his life.

He qualifies as a potential POTUS – except for his age – the 18-year-old was only a first-time voter this November.

Read more:
Who is Barron Trump?
Meet the Trumps

But MAGA supporters seem ready to wait for the Trump dynasty to carry on in power – “Barron Trump President 2044” merchandise is already on sale on the internet.

Having guided his father on to the voter-rich “manosphere” of internet sites, Barron has become Donald’s favourite son and the main repository of the Trump family’s political ambitions – if he wants the role.

Young, blonde, with handsome Slavic looks, and towering over his 6ft 3in father, Barron, at least 6ft 7in, is a cult figure with the MAGA faithful who talk of his “aristocratic bearing”.

This year, when he made his first, rare, appearance at a campaign rally, his father suggested his other sons watch out for the competition he represents.

Overtaking his older half-siblings – Don Jr, Eric and Ivanka – in the pecking order is a remarkable metamorphosis for the mommie’s boy who seemed on the brink of tears nine years ago at his father’s first victory rally in New York City.

This year at Mar-a-Lago, Barron and his mother were the First Family elect, the first on to the stage with the president-elect.

Barron was singled out for thanks by his father. The young male voters Barron directed his father to woo had indeed made a significant contribution to the Republicans’ across-the-board victory.

The Wall Street Journal reported a shift to the right of some 28 points toward Trump in this group.

According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning, 56% of male voters aged 18-28 backed Trump in 2024, up from 41% in 2020.

In the last campaign, Jared Kushner was in charge of the internet, then in his 30s.

This time a 27-year-old Republican consultant called Alex Bruesewitz produced a list of possible podcast appearances, which Trump immediately referred him to his youngest son: “Barron knows this stuff very well”.

Barron and his 18-year-old best friend, Bo Loudon, whose parents appeared on TV’s Wife Swap, then guided Trump to spend hours talking to hosts such as Logan Paul, Adin Ross, the Nelk Boys, Theo Von and, of course, Joe Rogan.

Trump’s interview with the comedian Theo Von has been viewed 15 million times.

His appearance on Joe Rogan has notched up 50 million views on YouTube alone, far more views than the presidential debates and convention keynote speeches.

There are now recriminations in the Democratic camp because Kamala Harris turned down her invitation to go on Joe Rogan for fear of “a backlash with some of our progressive colleagues”.

The left-wing independent Senator Bernie Sanders is almost a lone voice on the left arguing that cancelling right-of-centre outlets is counterproductive.

Trump burnished his celebrity on The Apprentice but was quick to understand that newer media outlets are the way to reach younger voters.

“They don’t grow up watching television the same way as we did. They grow up looking at the internet and watching a computer, right,” he noted.

Jamie Tahsin of Vice, who has spent five years studying the ultimate online bro Andrew Tate, describes Barron as “chronically online”.

The looser conversational style of these podcasts suited Trump, who came across as less aggressive, partly because he was not challenged or asked to talk about policy detail.

He was in tune with their typical obsessions of sports, bling, macho anti-woke posturing, trucks, wrestling and cryptocurrencies.

Tate, an accused rapist and human trafficker, has not been directly involved with Trump but still summarised the election as “men vs gays and chicks”.

Barron follows all this stuff and seems to be most interested in cryptocurrencies.

He joined his father and brothers to launch the World Liberty Financial.

On a livestream with two of WLF’s other founders, Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman, Trump commented: “Barron knows so much about this. Barron’s a young guy but he knows it. He talks about his wallet.”

Herro is also known for running the Date Hotter Girls service and crypto markets have soared since Trump’s re-election.

The name Barron, with its aristocratic overtones, has long appealed to Trump.

When he was making his way as a businessman, Trump used to call reporters claiming to be “John Barron”, a colleague of Trump’s, who would then go on to praise Trump’s various enterprises.

Then he gave the name Barron to his son.

Barron appears to share the family fondness for money-making schemes but it is not obvious yet that this diffident and polite young man has political ambitions. Those who know Barron say he is quiet, gentle and considerate – the opposite of a MAGA frat boy.

Barron went to three high schools as his father moved around the US. He has just started as a freshman at New York University’s Stern Business School. When fellow students teased him asking how he voted, he declined to say he is a Republican.

As so often his mother, Melania, spoke up for him, also without being partisan. She posted a picture of her son in the polling booth captioned “Voted for the first time – for his dad”.

Earlier Melania publicly turned down the invitation for Barron to speak at this year’s Republican Convention. His cousin Kia took the gig instead. Barron himself has no public social media presence.

Melania and her parents did much of the work raising Barron. They came to the US from Slovenia, then part of Yugoslavia. Barron speaks fluent Slovenian and as a small boy he spoke English with an accent like his mother.

His father claims he also speaks Chinese. Like her, he is an enigmatic figure, though he dresses in a suit and tie for his public appearances and is unlikely to appear in a coat emblazoned with “I don’t really care do you.”

America may be a republic rather than a monarchy, but dynasties still matter. They accumulate wealth and political know-how. Two generations of the Bush family were elected president.

Robert F Kennedy Jr has made a grotesque comeback as a Trump ally, trading on the family name of his father and uncle, President John F Kennedy.

Trump’s other children are dimmer political prospects.

Favourite daughter Ivanka was a close advisor last time her father was president but has repeatedly insisted that she has turned the page on politics.

Don Jr and Eric are keen, but not very bright, even in their father’s estimation.

Eric is concentrating on the commercial side of the Trump empire, while his wife Lara, currently co-chair of the Republican Party, may be in line for a job in the next administration.

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Don Jr goes down well with the MAGA faithful but lobbied hard for JD Vance to be vice president, scoring an own goal by recruiting someone likely better placed to follow his father into the White House.

Tiffany was brought up by her mother, Marla Maples, in California and largely stays away from campaigning.

That leaves the burden of expectation on the shoulders of Barron.

The world will have to wait until 2044 to see if his own ambitions, his mother, and his father’s legacy, leave him with a shot at the presidency.

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