There have been other signs that Donald Trump is disconnected from the life of his son. While bragging about his son, Donald Trump once botched Barron’s age during an interview. “He’s a very young guy, and he’s graduated from high school this year. He’s pretty young, I will say. He’s 17,” the one-time president told Noticias Telemundo on May 9, 2024. (Barron was 18 at the time.) Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Donald, displayed hostility when asked how “The Art of the Deal” author could forget his son’s age. “NBC has chosen to engage in tabloid journalism fit for the checkout aisle of a grocery store,” Steven Cheung told NBC News when asked for comment. Momentarily forgetting a child’s age may not seem to be a big deal, but Barron famously turned 18-years-old not long before that interview in March. It was especially memorable because former NBC executive Mike Sington wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “He’s fair game now.” The tweet was later deleted, per Newsweek.
Rumors have circulated for years that Donald does not have a close relationship with the only child he shares with Melania Trump. “His son is effectively not at all a part of his life,” journalist Michael Wolff said on “The Last Word with Laurence O’Donnell” in 2019 (via the Daily Mail). A similar report was published in January 2024 after Melania’s mother, Amalija Knavs, died. “There have been times when Barron has been with his grandparents more than with Melania, and a lot more than with Donald,” a source told People in January.
