Donald Trump Took a Trial Break To Support Son Barron Trump in This Major Milestone
Today was a big day for Donald Trump and Melania Trump’s 18-year-old son Barron Trump! He graduated from the exclusive private high school Oxbridge Academy in Florida this morning, and Donald took a break from his criminal trial to attend the milestone event in photos obtained by Associated Press.
The former president wore a dark blue suit with a blue tie as he stood next to Melania, dressed in a dark blue blazer, white skirt, and straw hat at the outdoor event. Melania’s dad Viktor Knavs also attended the graduation.
Donald is in the midst of a hush money trial in New York to determine if he’s guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal during the 2016 presidential election. Last month, he asked Judge Merchan if could take May 17 off to attend Barron’s graduation, which the judge said “depends on if we are on time and where we are in the trial,” per Forbes.
Donald then took to Truth Social to slam the judge, writing that he “prohibited” him from attending the graduation. Users on Twitter pointed out that he allegedly hadn’t gone to the graduations of any of his other children: Donald Trump Jr., 46, Ivanka, 42, Eric, 40, or Tiffany, 30.
Interestingly enough, Donald will not be attending a post-graduation party for Barron after his ceremony today. (Maybe this could explain his eagerness to get out of trial proceedings today?) Instead, he is hopping on a jet to fly to Minnesota today to headline the state’s GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan dinner in St. Paul, according to AP. The dinner takes place with the Republican party’s state convention. This appearance is part of Donald’s attempt to win over the state, which no presidential candidate has done since Richard Nixon in 1972.
Earlier this month, Barron was seemingly following in his dad’s political footsteps when he was selected as one of the Florida’s delegates at the Republican National Convention in July. However, a few days later, Melania confirmed to PEOPLE that he won’t be attending. “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,” she said.
In an interview on Thursday, a source close to the former first lady told PEOPLE, “Melania will keep her hand on Barron’s future just as much going forward as she has throughout his early and current school years.” They continued, “He is her world. She is proud of him, and she is the primary decision maker on Barron and his future.”
“He is still young and has a lot in front of him,” the insider added. “She wants him to be happy and settled in his future endeavors. She wants him to pursue what he wants to do. He is smart and has his own opinions but they are still being shaped.”
Before you go, check out what these celeb parents had to say about their kids heading off to college.