Barron Trump has declined to represent his father, former President Donald Trump, as a delegate at the Republican National Convention, the Daily Beast reported. This comes days after the Florida Republican Party announced that the 18-year-old would serve.
The announcement came Friday from the office of Melania Trump, former first lady and mother to Barron. "While Barron is honored to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican Party, he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments," the statement said.
The Sunshine State's GOP announced Wednesday that the younger Trump was invited to attend the convention in Milwaukee happening July 15-18, the New York Post reported. Also slated to attend are half-siblings Donald Jr., Eric, and Tiffany.
Other Trump family members who will participate are Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Jr.'s fiancee, and Michael Boulos, Tiffany's husband. Besides Barron, the only other Trump child who will not act as a delegate is Ivanka Trump, who has said she will stay out of politics during her father's 2024 presidential bid.
While his father was in office, Barron's mother shielded him from the public eye as much as possible. He has never made any public statement on the record and is rarely out and about without his mother.
If he had joined the delegation, it would have marked the first move toward following in his father's footsteps. Despite Barron's change of heart, Donald Trump said that his youngest son is interested in politics.
“He’s a little on the tall side. I will tell you, he’s a tall one, but he is a good-looking guy," Donald Trump said on 1210 WPTH talk radio's Kayal and Company of Barron, who towers over his parents at 6 feet 7 inches tall.
"And he’s really been a great student. And he does like politics. It’s sort of funny," the former president added.
"He’ll tell me sometimes, ‘Dad, this is what you have to do,'" Donald Trump said. For now, it seems any political moves for Barron will happen behind the scenes.
Trump has involved his family in his campaign and later his administration from the very beginning. The notable exceptions were his youngest son and his wife.
Even as a first lady, Melania Trump has stayed out of the spotlight as much as possible. "It’s funny, she was a very successful model, very, very successful, and yet she was a private person," Donald Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham in an interview in April.
"She’s going to be out a lot. Not because she likes doing it, but she likes the results," the former president added.
"She wants to see this country really succeed. She loves the country," Donald Trump said.
Politics is a nasty business, and Melania Trump was right to shield Barron from it for as long as possible. The young man is graduating from high school and heading off to college, so the last thing he needs is to become a target of the left by helping his father get elected.
