When Barron Trump moved into the White House in June 2017 during President Donald Trump's first term, there hadn't been a young first son running around the premises since John F. Kennedy Jr., who was born just weeks after his dad won the 1960 presidential election.
And that made then-11-year-old Barron the first adolescent boy to have the run of the place since Charles Taft II, who was 11 when his father, William Howard Taft, was elected in 1908.
Nowadays, however, Trump and first lady Melania Trump are empty nesters, Barron having enrolled at New York University last fall, calling Manhattan home once again.
And while it couldn't have been easy the first time around to go from being a not-exactly-average but far less scrutinized kid to what being the president's son is like, at least the 19-year-old college freshman is already used to having a Secret Service detail and all eyes upon him.
Not least because, at 6-foot-7, Barron is hard to miss.
But that's also where his pre-2017 upbringing came in handy.
Growing up in a gilded penthouse at Trump Tower and knowing how to look politely at the occasional camera may have prepared Barron (and his grown half-siblings Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump) better than most first kids for that famous-but-fiercely-shielded existence.
Over the past century, all of the boys who were young enough to live in the White House for even a bit, such as Franklin Roosevelt's 17-year-old son John Aspinwall Roosevelt, were the youngest of their siblings. Older brother James Roosevelt would later write that John "had the smoothest, least exciting life of all of us."
"The youngest," James wrote, "he was also the least close to father."
As Barbara Bush and Jenna Bush, who were 19 and already in college when George W. Bush was elected in 2000, would concur in a letter to their successors Malia Obama and Sasha Obama in 2009: "It isn't always easy being a member of the club you are about to join. Remember who your dad really is."
During his first term in office, President Trump never offered up many super-personal father-son anecdotes about Barron's childhood (or the childhoods of any of his other four kids), but has always spoken about his fifth-born with nothing but pride. And during his 2024 campaign, the 78-year-old did share that it was Barron who kept him up on "all the hot guys"—as in top media influencers like Joe Rogan—whose favor he should curry.
Barron didn't attend any of his father's raucous rallies until last July—in Doral, Fla., close to the Trumps' preferred home base at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach—in a show of political solidarity that went beyond his typical on-demand appearances at the 2017 inauguration, et al., that were expected of him.
"You’re pretty popular," the candidate told Barron from the stage when letting the crowd know his youngest kid was in the house. "He might be more popular than Don and Eric! Welcome to the scene, Barron."
Once he was 18, all bets as to what Barron really thought about anything were off, but until then his mom did all she could to make sure he was protected from that scene—or any scene.
"Barron's terrific," Trump told E! News in January 2015, six months before he announced he was running for president, about his then-8-year-old son. "He's a great boy, he's working hard, he's starting the school thing—you know, the beginning of the process, and he's going to be a very good boy." Asked if Barron was aware yet of his dad's fame, the Celebrity Apprentice host replied, "I don't know what he's aware of, but he is a fantastic young boy—so I hope he becomes aware fast."
The next year became a crash course in how much influence his father had for more than just Barron.
"I tell him: Take it day by day, enjoy your life, live your meaningful life as I like to do," Melania Trump told Us Weekly in January 2016 as the race was starting to heat up. "...Of course, at that age, every child would worry, especially if they love school, if they love friends, they don't want to lose that. Everything is a new opportunity, and it brings new friends and a new school. You never know, you never know what happens. Enjoy it day by day, live your life and don't stress yourself."
Barron was an infrequent presence on the 2016 campaign trail, the future first lady making it clear that school was his priority and her priority was caring for Barron, but he did attend the Republican National Convention and, of course, was there with the whole family on election night.
And then, unlike the adolescent first kids who came before him, he didn't move into the White House right away. Rather, he and his mother remained in New York so he could finish out the year at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School.
They would make weekend trips to D.C. and Mar-a-Lago but otherwise lived a very private life in Manhattan.
The NYPD estimated it cost between $127,000 and $146,000 a day to protect the first lady and first son in New York, including their mini-motorcade rides to and from school on the Upper West Side.
Also in New York at the time, and often with them at Mar-a-Lago (as well, eventually, in Washington, D.C.), were Barron's Slovenian maternal grandparents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs.
So like Malia and Sasha Obama, whose maternal grandmother, Marian Robinson, lived as part of the first family at the White House through President Barack Obama's two terms, Barron had grandparents nearby.
Sadly, Amalija died in January 2024, while Michelle Obama's mother passed away that May.
The Knavses remained extremely private, but Robinson detailed what it meant to her to have that quality time with her grandchildren.
"One of my biggest blessings is getting to see my granddaughters grow up before my eyes," she reflected in an essay for Essence in 2012. "I go to all their school plays and sports games; I'll answer their questions, and like any grandparent, I try to make myself scarce when their friends are around."
"What amazes me the most, though," she also wrote, "is that Barack still makes time for family dinner almost every night. He's still calling out plays from the sideline for Sasha's basketball team. He's talking the girls through their days, helping them with their homework, and laughing and joking with them every single day."
Robinson also wrote that she was glad to be there for her daughter, when she needed her. And as it turned out, vice versa.
"I couldn't have done it without you, Mom!" Michelle Obama said in giving Robinson a shout-out on The Tonight Show in January 2017, days before Trump's first inauguration.
The former first lady also told People in late 2016, as the whole family was getting ready to move out, that living in the White House brought the family closer together.
"So it wasn't until the White House that we were together seven days a week, that we could have dinner together, he had time to coach the girls' teams and go to all their events," Michelle recalled.
But, as then-President Obama also noted at the time, "They're ready to get out, just out from their parents' house. The fact that their parents' house is the White House may add to it. But Malia's going off to college. She's a grown woman."
Malia was 10 and Sasha 7 when the Obamas moved into the White House in 2009.
"There's a sentimentality about this place, that they've had so many amazing experiences, and the staff are part of the family," Obama said. "It is different for them than for most kids in that when they leave, they won't be able to come back home. Malia's spoken about how she regrets the fact that she won't have that home base in the same way."
Like Chelsea Clinton, who was 12 when Bill Clinton was elected president, Malia and Sasha attended Sidwell Friends School in Bethesda, Md., before moving on to Harvard and USC, respectively (though Sasha started her higher education at University of Michigan).
Many of the first kids are said to have made the White House their own in some way, whether it was Amy Carter playing in her specially built tree house or John Jr. and Caroline Kennedy keeping a pony, Macaroni, on the grounds.
But Barron sightings were few and far between before he graduated from St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Md., last year, and the increasingly tall teen was always accompanied by one or both parents. Meanwhile, there have been more sightings since, but he's still pretty private as far as wildly famous young adults go.
Melania stuck to her promise to keep Barron out of the fray, keeping him largely out of the public eye.
"It is a longstanding tradition that the children of Presidents are afforded the opportunity to grow up outside of the political spotlight," the White House press office said in a statement a few days after Trump's inauguration. "The White House fully expects this tradition to continue. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter."
Chelsea Clinton actually came to his defense on multiple occasions, tweeting in April 2017, "I've repeatedly said and will keep saying Barron should be afforded the right and space and privacy to be a kid." And that August, after a Daily Caller blogger criticized Barron's clothing for being too casual, Clinton wrote, "It's high time the media & everyone leave Barron Trump alone & let him have the private childhood he deserves."
President Trump invoked his tween son, however, when in joking about the special counsel's Russia investigation he tweeted, "Jared Kushner did very well yesterday into proving he did not collude with the Russians. Witch Hunt. Next up, 11 year old Barron Trump!"
And while he wasn't the first kid to live in the White House in the Instagram age, Barron Trump might have been the first one to provide tech support.
"I have a son. He's 10 years old. He has computers. He is so good with these computers, it's unbelievable," Trump volunteered at his first debate with Hillary Clinton in 2016. "The security aspect of cyber is very, very tough. And maybe it's hardly doable."
Like many fathers of a certain age, Trump was basically marveling at what his son already knows about computers, Barron's generation practically having been born with smart phone in hand.
Barron also golfs—something father and son do together, Melania has said—and when he was younger he was into drawing.
"He is a very strong-minded, very special, smart boy," the first lady told Parenting.com when Barron was 6, happily describing herself as a "full time mom."
"He is independent and opinionated and knows exactly what he wants. Sometimes I call him little Donald," she said. "He is a mixture of us in looks, but his personality is why I call him little Donald."
Melania Trump also said that her No. 1 parenting secret was having good listening skills.
"I listen to what he says, what troubles him and what he is excited about," she explained. "Then I can guide and support. I don't push my thoughts or likes or dislikes. I want him to grow to be his own person. I think is important to give a child room to make mistakes in order to learn. Mistakes build wings so later in life they can fly and go on their own. Let them fall once in awhile. When they do they will learn how to pick themselves up on their own when you aren't around. If he says no, we listen to him. It's no and we don't try to change it. It's important to let them be who they are.
"Be their friend and parent as well. When they're in trouble they will come to you first. Don't try to change their opinion."
Learn more about the entire Trump family right here:
Ivana Trump
Ivana Trump was the first wife of President-elect Donald Trump. Born in Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia—now Zlín of the Czech Republic—in 1949, she rose to fame as a competitive skier. And, thanks to her marriage to Austrian ski instructor Alfred Winklmayr in 1971, Ivana was able to travel often outside of Czechoslovakia.
According to her book Raising Trump, the model met Donald three years after her 1973 divorce during a New York trip, where she'd traveled for a Canadian fashion show ahead of the Montreal Olympics. They wed in 1977 and welcomed three kids: Donald Trump Jr. born in 1977, Ivanka Trump born in 1981 and Eric Trump born in 1984.
The pair's divorce was finalized in 1992 following his affair with Marla Maples, whom he later married.
However, Ivana—who then married Riccardo Mazzucchelli for two years followed by Rossano Rubicondi for less than a year—and Donald remained on good terms.
“Donald during the divorce was brutal,” she told ABC News in 2017. “He took the divorce as a business deal, and he cannot lose. He has to win. So he took about two years. And after the final situation was straightened up, we would just talk and we are friends.”
Ivana died in 2022 at age 73. According to NBC News, the New York City Medical Examiner said she died of “blunt impact injuries” and that her manner of death was an accident. A senior NYC official with direct knowledge added the circumstances were consistent with a fall on the stairs in her New York apartment.
Donald Trump Jr.
In 1977, Ivana and Donald welcomed their eldest son Donald Trump Jr. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in finance and real estate from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 2000 and began working for his father’s company The Trump Organization in 2001, where he now serves as the executive vice president.
Don Jr. is also a director for both Trump Media & Technology Group Corp and PublicSquare Holdings and part of 1789 Capital firm. In addition, he's been involved in his dad’s political campaigns, including speaking at rallies and the Republican National Convention during his father's presidential runs.
Don Jr. shares five children with his ex-wife, model Vanessa Haydon: Kai (who also made a speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention) Donald III, Tristan, Spencer and Chloe.
Don Jr. was previously engaged to Fox News alum Kimberly Guilfoyle. However, he recently confirmed their split.
"Kimberly and I will never stop caring for each other," he told Page Six Dec. 13, "and will always keep a special bond."
Don Jr. has since been linked to socialite Bettina Anderson. As for Vanessa, she is dating Tiger Woods.
Ivanka Trump
Four years after the arrival of Don Jr., Donald and Ivana became parents to daughter Ivanka Trump.
Before her father’s presidency, the University of Pennsylvania alum worked at The Trump Organization. But after he was elected in 2016, the fashion brand founder—who had her own eponymous line—took on the role of Advisor to the President.
After her dad announced he would be running for president again in 2024, Ivanka revealed she would be stepping out of the political arena to focus on her family with husband, former White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, and their children Arabella, Joseph and Theodore.
“I love my father very much,” she said in part of a 2022 statement obtained by NBC News. “This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics.”
Eric Trump
Born in 1984, Eric Trump is the third child of Ivana and Donald. He graduated with a degree in finance and management from Georgetown University.
Like his brother, Eric works as executive vice president of The Trump Organization, which he joined in 2007. He is also president of Trump Winery.
Eric is married to Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump, with whom he shares kids Luke and Carolina.
Marla Maples
Marla Maples is Donald’s second wife, whom he met while still married to Ivana.
In Raising Trump, Ivana wrote the actress approached her about the affair during a trip to Aspen in 1989. Still, Marla said on a 2018 episode of the ABC podcast Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris that she “never considered” herself a mistress.
"My intention was to never bring hurt," she continued. "Do I wish more than anything that we could have had this relationship after his divorce papers were signed? Absolutely. I mean, with all my heart. How much heartache would it have saved so many people if I had seen that piece of paper before we got involved? But it didn't happen that way."
Marla and Donald welcomed daughter Tiffany Trump in 1993, and the couple wed later that year. However, the Dancing With the Stars alum and the 47th commander in chief announced their separation four years later and finalized their divorce in 1999.
Tiffany Trump
After her parents’ breakup, Tiffany Trump relocated with her mother to California.
"She moved us out of New York to get out of the spotlight and let me grow up and find my own identity versus being in the shadow of a name or growing up very young with all that pressure,” Tiffany told People in 2016. “So, she wanted me to have a chance to have a normal childhood. As normal as possible. I think that she did well in that.”
She released her 2011 single “Like a Bird" and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 with a B.A. in sociology, focusing on law and society. She then went to Georgetown Law School, where she graduated with a JD in 2020.
In 2022, Tiffany wed Michael Boulos. Her father announced they're expecting their first baby during an October 2024 speech at the Detroit Economic Club. "She’s an exceptional young woman," he said during his remarks. "And she’s going to have a baby. So that’s nice.”
The little one made his debut on May 15, 2025.
"Welcome to the world our sweet baby boy, Alexander Trump Boulos," Tiffany wrote on X on his birthday. "We love you beyond words! Thank you for coming into our lives!"
Melania Trump
Melania Trump is Donald’s third wife and current First Lady of the United States. Born in Mesto, Slovenia in 1970, she is the second First Lady to be born outside of the U.S. and the only First Lady to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Melania met Donald in New York in 1996 while she was working as a model.
“It was a big fashion party that my friend organized, fashion week, and he invited me,” she recalled on a 2016 episode of On the Record With Greta Van Susteren. “That’s how we met with Donald.”
Melania and Donald married in 2005, and they welcomed son Barron Trump the following year.
In 2024, she released her memoir Melania and she's set to appear in a documentary. Melania has also spoken about where she will spend her time during her husband's second presidency.
"I will be in the White House," she told Fox & Friends in an interview that aired Jan. 13. "When I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach. My first priority is to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife. And once we're in on January 20, you serve the country."
Barron Trump
Born in 2006, Barron Trump is Donald and Melania’s only child. While he has lived a more private life—relocating with his parents from New York to live in Washington, D.C. and then Florida—it looked like he might enter the political world after he was selected in May 2024 as a Florida delegate to the Republican National Convention. However, Barron declined the offer.
"While Barron is honored to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican Party,” a statement from Melania’s office shared with NBC News at the time said, “he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments.”
Like studying, perhaps, with Barron starting his freshman year at New York University in 2024. "He was accepted to a lot of colleges," his father told the Daily Mail in an interview published Sept. 4. "He's a very smart guy, and he'll be going to Stern, the business school, which is a great school at NYU."
However, Melania told Fox & Friends in her interview that Barron will come and visit his family at the White House, and he was there for his father's inauguration ceremony in January 2025.
(Originally published Feb. 22, 2018, at 6 a.m. PT)