Barron Trump's Most Awkward Moments Caught On Camera
Melania Trump did an incredible job shielding Barron Trump from the spotlight after the Trump family traded their gilded tower for the White House, but the media still managed to capture a few of the former first son's most awkward moments as an involuntary public figure.
While Melania gained a reputation for being fiercely protective of her son during her tenure as first lady, she and Donald Trump seemed to have no qualms about trotting Barron out in public prior to their foray into politics. He was just a wee lad when he joined his dad on the dais during Donald's Hollywood Walk of Fame induction speech. Barron grabbed the mic while his father was speaking, and in one of his first awkward moments caught on film, the toddler didn't let go until Donald extricated it from his iron grip.
It's often Donald who is to blame for making his son's experience being thrust into the public eye a bit embarrassing. Donald has cracked cringe-inducing jokes about Barron, and the real estate mogul used his son's high school graduation to play the victim during his hush-money trial. Barron also had to spend many hours with cameras trained on him during his dad's presidency, which would make most kids feel uncomfortable. But unlike the adults around him, he seemed uninterested in putting on a show for the media — much to the delight of anyone who was relieved to see him acting like a typical kid.
Barron Trump's obvious boredom at the RNC
One of the first major events that Barron Trump attended during his father's political ascendancy was the Republican National Convention. The tween seemingly had zero interest in being there, as he was filmed doing anything but paying attention to Donald Trump's speech. Barron even found the arm of his chair more fascinating than what his father was saying. At one point, he began wiping it down with his sleeve and hand, as if he were trying to clean it. During the bizarre chapter in history when Donald was campaigning for fellow TV personality Dr. Oz, the former "Celebrity Apprentice" host did tell rally goers (via Aaron Rupar on X), "I'm a clean freak." It's entirely possible that he passed this trait on to his son.
Poor Barron also played with his hair and lips while staring off into space. A water bottle held his attention briefly, but he looked as if he had gotten to the point where he just couldn't take it anymore when he leaned forward and placed his face in his hands. It was not a ringing endorsement of what was going on onstage.
Barron's restless movements got a ton of media coverage, and his behavior may be the reason he was later photographed with a fidget spinner. This should have given Donald the idea to hand out MAGA-branded versions of the gadgets at his rallies — perhaps this would have kept so many people from leaving them early.
Barron Trump's sleepy struggle on election night
The November 2016 presidential election kept a lot of Americans up late as they waited to see whether America would get its first female or reality show host president. Donald Trump's victory shocked many Americans, but it wasn't enough to rouse Barron Trump from his sleepy stupor.
In the wee hours of the morning, Barron joined his father onstage while Donald vowed to make good on his promise to return America to his idea of greatness. "For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country," Donald said, later adding, "We will seek common ground, not hostility," (via CNN). Perhaps what was really making Barron so tired wasn't the late hour but counting his dad's lies like sheep.
Barron swayed on his feet, took deep breaths as if he were trying desperately to stifle yawns, and blinked his eyes in an effort to keep them open. He looked like he was about to lose his battle with the Sandman at one point — his eyelids were starting to droop, and he really seemed ready to just start snoozing on his feet. But then a yell from the crowd seemed to jolt him awake. According to The Daily Edge, it sounded like the Trump supporter shouted, "Kill Obama!" Classy.
The high five attempt that went horribly wrong
To employ the use of superlatives a la Donald Trump, nobody ever failed harder at a high five than his wife and son. At Donald's 2017 inauguration, it appeared to be the start of a lighthearted moment when Melania Trump held up her gloved hand to give Barron a high five. However, he left his mom hanging by smiling at her and giving her an awkward wave instead.
Determined to have her sweet mother-son moment, Melania briefly held up her hand again. This time, she only gave Barron a split second to react before lowering her hand and turning her head away, as if something had caught her attention. With his mom not looking, Barron rapidly swung his arm down toward her like a tiger taking a swipe at something. The whole exchange was playful yet bizarre.
At another point during the event, Barron rejected his mom's attempt to hold his hand. He also looked a tad annoyed when she started adjusting his tie, so maybe he refused her high five because she just wouldn't stop embarrassing him. (Moms, amirite?) Later that day, karma came for Barron when he tried to give his nephew Theo a high five. It was Barron's turn to be left hanging, but to be fair, Theo was just an infant who didn't yet understand the concept of a high five.
Donald Trump's dance moves failed to impress his son
It won't win him the Mirrorball Trophy on "Dancing with the Stars," but Donald Trump has learned that his go-to dance move is a real crowd-pleaser — if performed in front of a crowd of his supporters. Donald raises both fists and moves them back and forth, as if he's using two Shake Weights at once. Executing the move is also, apparently, the perfect way to celebrate the Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead after being executed.
Trump arrives at Easter dinner with Barron showing off his signature dance moves. pic.twitter.com/Os9CiRUAPk
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) April 1, 2024
On Easter Sunday, Donald strutted into Mar-a-Lago with Barron Trump trailing behind him. Amid cheers from the awaiting crowd, Donald did his little dad dance. In a video posted by Ron Filipowski on X, Barron glances at his father, slaps on a tight smile, and quickly strolls away while Donald greets his adoring public. Barron was clearly ready to get out of Dodge as soon as those fists started shaking.
There was some rather loud music playing in the background of the video, which Barron is reportedly not a fan of. On the "PBD Podcast," comic Vincent Oshana recounted a conversation he had with Barron at Mar-a-Lago. "Barron's like, 'Guys, I'll be in my room and the house is shaking. My dad plays the music loud." Who knew that Barron had such a snarky sense of humor?
Barron Trump's height makes him stand out in a crowd
Barron Trump probably has to hear so many of those corny "How's the weather up there?" jokes. And just imagine the shock of a Mar-a-Lago guest if he responded, "Much hotter than usual due to global climate change." Mar-a-Lago was the setting of Donald Trump's announcement that he was making a third presidential bid, and Barron joined his dad as he greeted the crowd that had gathered for the occasion. It was Donald's big moment, but the gold Trump hair that people in the back of the room were seeing didn't belong to him — Barron towered over everyone. In a C-SPAN clip posted by Caleb Hull on X, the teen's eyes darted around the crowd as he awkwardly smiled and nodded at the people thrusting a camera in his face. Meanwhile, Donald basked in the attention.
Barron Trump is an absolute unit pic.twitter.com/5zq0eqQFe4
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) November 16, 2022
During his appearance on the "Impaulsive" podcast, Donald brought up Barron's height for the umpteenth time and pretty much confirmed that he's somewhat peeved that his son tops him in an area that he can do nothing to change. "I say, 'Barron, 'I don't want to take a picture next to you,'" he joked. It also might have irritated Donald a bit that Barron didn't take his advice by pursuing a basketball career — just think of all the potential free tickets to NBA games he missed out on.