Why Barron Trump was missing from his father’s important speech to Congress

Barron Trump was the only Trump child absent from the president’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday night but he had a good reason.

School. 

The 18-year-old is a freshman at New York University and has classes this week.

He lives in New York in Trump Tower. 

His siblings were with his mother, Melania Trump, as they listened to Donald Trump’s speech. Ivanka Trump was there with her husband Jared Kushner, Don Jr. was accompanied by his girlfriend Bettina Anderson, Eric and Lara Trump were also present, and Tiffany Trump attended with her husband Michael Boulos.

The youngest Trump child is studying business. But his 24/7 Secret Service detail means he’s likely struggling to have a normal college experience. 

Melania, who had reportedly spent much of her initial time as the first lady in New York with Barron, has recognized that her son is not your average teenager.

She mentioned, “I don’t believe it’s possible for him to have a regular college experience. His time at university is very distinct from that of other students,” she said in a statement back in December.

Barron Trump arriving at Trump Tower after school 

Melania Trump is protective of her son. 

But she has bragged about how he helped his father in the 2024 election, recommending podcasts for the president to speak to in order to reach young male voters.

‘He’s a grown young man. I’m very proud of him – about his knowledge, even about politics, and giving advice to his father. He brought in so many young people. He knows his generation,’ she told Fox News in January.

However, she also has kept him away from some major political events, including this summer’s Republican National Convention.

Barron was 10 when his father was elected the first time. He spent his teenage years growing up at the White House.

Melania said he will come visit them in Washington D.C.

‘He will come and visit, yes,’ she told Fox News in January.

‘I feel that children we have them feel they are like 18, 19 years old. We teach them, we guide them. And then we give them the wings to fly. And I always respect Barron’s yes and no and what he likes to do, where he would like to be.’

Meanwhile, most of his siblings were on hand to watch their father.

The siblings are close and supportive of each other and the president.

Don Jr., Eric and Ivanka are the children of Trump’s first marriage to Ivana Trump. Tiffany is the daughter of his second wife Marla Maples and Barron is the son of the president and first lady Melania Trump.

Donald Trump Jr. with Bettina Anderson in the Capitol

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump at the president’s speech

Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump, Michael Boulos, Bettina Anderson and Donald Trump, Jr. at President Donald Trump’s speech in the Capitol

Barron Trump at 6’9′ towered over his parents as Donald Trump took the oath of office on inauguration day and Melania Trump looked on

Still, the Trump children have their separate lives.

Tiffany and husband Michael Boulos are expecting their first child.

Lara Trump has a new show on Fox News. Eric Trump continues to run the family business.

Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, who live in Miami, have three school-aged children.

They have stayed out of politics in Trump’s second term to focus on their family but they still speak to the president regularly and remain an emotional support.

‘I’m most looking forward to just being able to show up for him as a daughter and be there for him, to take his mind off things and like watch a movie with him or watch a sports game, to know that he can be with me and be himself, and just relax,’ Ivanka told The Skinny Confidential podcast in January.

Don Jr. has joined corporate boards, including the e-commerce company PublicSquare and the prescription access platform BlinkRx.