Donald and Barron Trump: How close are the father and son?
Donald Trump has a very public relationship with three of his children: Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka. He has another daughter, Tiffany, from his marriage to Marla Maples. But his youngest child, Barron, is the only child who lives with him. However, his father-son relationship with Barron is not as public as that of his other children, which begs the question: How close are these two?
Barron Trump moved into the White House after his father
Donald officially became president of the United States in January 2016. But that happened in the middle of Barron's school year, and at the time he was attending a private school in New York City. Instead of moving to the White House with his father, he chose to stay in Manhattan with his mother, Melania, and finish the school year. While it was understandable that the parents didn't want to take their son out of school in the middle of the year, it means that Barron probably didn't spend much time with his father during those five months they lived apart.
Donald attended his son's first day of school
In June, after he finished Barron's school year, he moved in with Melania in the White House. This meant that he would have to start at a new school. On his first day Donald was with his son when he first entered school. Donald and Melania chose to send his son to a school about 30 minutes from the White House, in Potomac, Maryland. Past presidents have chosen to send their children to more local schools closer to the White House. Donald and Melania never explained why they chose a school much further away, but perhaps they wanted more privacy for their son, as the Trump family was under constant scrutiny.
But Melania essentially raised him
Though Donald is present for some of Barron's biggest moments, Melania essentially raised her child. Donald was a businessman who spent a lot of time working, and Melania decided early on that she wanted to be involved with her son and not let the nannies raise him. "[Donald] didn't change diapers, and I'm totally fine with that," she said in a 2015 interview with Parenting. Melania considers being a mother her first job and her most important job, but Donald doesn't seem to put his child before his business. However, it seems the couple decided that Melania would do most of the day-to-day parenting, so it worked out for them.
Donald values his time with Barron, which means there probably won't be much
Melania said that Donald and Barron enjoy spending time together. Donald cherishes the days he plays golf with his son, who loves the sport just like his father. When at Donald's vacation home, Mar-a-Lago, Melania told Parenting that the two of them always have dinner together and the three of them enjoy family time. While Donald seems to care about his youngest child, he doesn't seem to have the most practical approach to parenting and tends to put his professional obligations first. But each family has its own way of doing things; hopefully, Barron will spend more father-son time with his father as he gets older.
