Donald Trump has been told he can attend his son’s graduation after all. So what do we know about Barron?
Donald Trump will be able to attend the high school graduation of his youngest son Barron Trump after all, despite it clashing with his New York hush money trial.
On the very first day of his criminal trial on Monday 15 April, the Republican presidential candidate emerged from the courtroom to complain to reporters that Judge Juan Merchan would not allow him to be present for the milestone event in his son’s life.
His fury was echoed by members of the conservative media, with Fox News guest Piers Morgan urging the former president to risk jail time rather than miss such an important occasion.
But the judge actually hadn’t said anything of the sort, saying he would rule on whether or not Mr Trump could attend at a later date. Criminal defendants are required by law to attend every day of their criminal trials and Mr Trump is not exempt from the rule. Exceptions can, however, be made at the discretion of a judge.
Two weeks later on 30 August, the judge ruled that he would allow Mr Trump to attend Barron’s graduation on Friday 17 May.
Judge Merchan said that it was not “a problem” for Mr Trump to have the day off to head to Florida for the ceremony given the trial is currently running to schedule. The third full week of the trial is now under way, where Mr Trump is on trial charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election, in order to stay quiet about an alleged affair in 2006. The defendant denies the affair and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Unlike his much-older siblings Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump, Barron has stayed out of the political limelight. Now, he has turned 18 it’s possible this could soon change.
So who is Barron Trump and what do we know about him?
Barron William Trump was born on 20 March 2006 and is Mr Trump’s only child with his third wife Melania Trump.
He was baptised at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida – a venue he returned to in January for the funeral of his grandmother, Melania’s mother, Amalija Knavs.
The youngest of all of the former president’s children, Barron was raised at Trump Tower in Manhattan and attended the affluent borough’s Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School.
Barron was still a child when his father won the presidency in November 2016 and entered the White House.
Although he did attend his father’s inauguration in January 2017, he was fiercely shielded from public view by his mother, who initially did not join her husband in Washington DC but chose to stay behind in New York so that her son could finish his elementary school year.
The first lady’s protective attitude was more than justified given that, incredibly, he was attacked by The Daily Caller, aged just 11, over his choice of clothes.
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