Stories About Barron Trump That Were Totally False

There's no denying that Barron Trump has had a ton written about him in his 18 years. However, that's not to say everything that's been said has been true. In fact, there have been a number of blatantly false stories made about the former president's youngest son, from family tension, to claims that Melania Trump wasn't his mother, to bad behavior that led to government policies. 

We'll start with the maternity question, aka one of the most bizarre stories to have ever done the rounds. That is, while Melania isn't Barron's real mom, Princess Diana is. Yes, you read that right. It's not clear how long this particular rumor floated around in QAnon circles. However, it was brought to the public's attention in April 2022, when X (formerly Twitter) account, @PatriotTakes shared screenshots of commentary made by those who believed it. Among the "proof" supplied were side-by-side pics of a young Princess Diana at Balmoral Castle, and even younger Barron on-stage. Tbh, we kind of get it: if you scrunch up your eyes, cock your head to the left and look exclusively at the hair, it's a wonder no one spotted the similarities earlier on. 

Of course, there's no proof to this particular theory. For one, much as she is missed, Princess Diana passed away just two decades shy of Barron's birth. Then, there's the fact that Melania did a ton of press during her pregnancy and shortly after giving birth to her only child. Emphasis on her only child. 

Sticking with family drama, another story about Barron Trump is that he isn't close with his older half-siblings, Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, and Tiffany. Part of that has stemmed from claims that Donald Trump has a habit of pitting his kids against each other. That said, the biggest smoking gun in this scenario is the fact that the Trump kids have such a big age gap. 

Honestly, if there was distance between Barron and his much older half-siblings, it wouldn't be particularly shocking. However, it actually seems as though the brood get on swell. In particular, his half-sisters have made it clear on many occasions that they adore their baby brother. Ivanka famously reposted a viral video of Barron playing peekaboo with her son, Theodore Kushner. "My youngest brother proves he's a baby whisperer," she gushed on X. As for how close Tiffany is with Barron, past birthday messages shared to Instagram have shown the two hanging out even when he was very young — and revealed that she refers to him as "B."

Eric, meanwhile, has made it clear that even if he and Barron didn't grow up under the same roof, they still have a playful bond. Such was the case when he jokingly complained about being shorter than his youngest sibling on "First Class Fatherhood." Even so, he confirmed that they were close, and that Barron was especially tight with his kids. 

Shifting gears to stories about Barron Trump himself, many may remember that back in 2019, Donald and Melania Trump got serious about trying to discourage Americans from vaping. As journalist Aaron Rupar shared in an X post, Donald told the press that Melania had growing concerns over e-cigarettes, largely due to the fact that she had a young son whose health she was concerned about, lest he begin vaping himself.

Awkward wording about Melania's son aside, many had a field day with a theory that Barron Trump had been caught vaping by his mother. Taking to Quora, one user floated the idea that that was the core reason why the then-president had been so opposed to vaping. Another responded that they weren't sure if he'd vaped, but some of his friends had, and once Melania found out, she was determined to use her platform to put a stop to it.

It bears mentioning that none of those who claimed to know anything about Barron or his friends vaping came forward with any sources. Nor, for that matter, did Donald or Melania ever address the claims. For that reason, we're placing this theory firmly in rumor category.

While the rumor about Barron Trump vaping never got an official reaction from either of his parents, the same can't be said of the claims he had autism. Quite the contrary, Melania Trump was quick to set the record straight in no uncertain terms.

To refresh, back in 2016, a YouTuber uploaded a video effectively diagnosing Barron with autism. That wasn't all, though. The video went viral after none other than Rosie O'Donnell posted it to her Twitter. Re-posting wasn't all she did, though. O'Donnell also captioned the video, "Barron Trump autistic? If so — what an amazing opportunity to bring attention to the AUTISM epidemic" (via the New York Daily News).

There's no denying O'Donnell was likely being genuine in saying there was an opportunity for greater awareness if Barron was autistic. However, suffice it to say, Melania was not impressed with the online diagnosis from people who had never even met her child. Per TMZ, she threatened the original YouTuber with legal action. Said YouTuber took the video down and apologized unreservedly. "It was incredibly irresponsible of me to diagnose Barron Trump using a selection of misleading videos," he told the outlet. As for O'Donnell, she apologized to Melania, too. In a since-deleted post to X, she wrote, "I apologize to @MelaniaTrump — I was insensitive in my RT — I am sorry for the pain I caused — it was not my intent — I am truly sorry" (via The Hollywood Reporter).

There's no denying that a number of people who have met Barron Trump have spoken of how much he impressed them. In fact, "Valutainment" host Vincent Oshana couldn't help but gush over how intelligent the teenager came across when they met in early 2024. Even so, claims by Donald Trump stans that Barron is a genius are unconfirmed. 

Some may be aware that an X account named @MAGAMAN614 has claimed Barron fell into the category of celebrities with sky-high IQs, with a score of more than 170. For reference, that would guarantee Barron entry to Mensa ... and we think it's fairly safe to assume that if Barron was a member, Donald would have told us by now. In the same post, @MAGAMAN614 also claimed Barron was, "A legendary chess extraordinaire." That likely stems from the claim that Barron is a chess grandmaster ... which is also not true. Au contraire, as noted by fact-checking site Snopes, the claims began as a result of a satire piece by The Daily Chronicle. Said article has since been taken down (no word on whether that had anything to do with Trump fans taking it as truth). 

In their debunking piece, Snopes also noted that Barron was not listed as one of the official chess grandmasters. Of course, that was back in 2018, so we did another check-in on the International Chess Federation's directory to see if anything had changed. Soz Barron — it hasn't. 

Barron Trump is certainly a tall young man, so it's not exactly surprising that many have wondered whether a career in the NBA is in the cards (tall people across the globe, it's time for a collective eye-roll). It's also not shocking that one sportsbook was being used to bet on which college Barron would play basketball at. 

Here's the thing: while many have called for Barron to consider playing basketball, Donald Trump himself has made it clear that his youngest child is just not into it. Speaking at an Iowa rally in early 2024, he shared, "I said, 'You're gonna be a basketball player.' He said, 'Well, I like soccer, dad, actually.' I thought, at your height I like basketball better, but you can't talk them into everything" (via Daily Mail). No word on whether the soccer ball Vladimir Putin gifted Donald in 2018, and which Donald promised to give his son, had anything to do with Barron's preferences. 

Barron has certainly been very mysterious until now (shout out to Melania Trump for that), which has undoubtedly played a role in the rumors out there. However, since celebrating his 18th birthday, there's a chance Melania's biggest fears will manifest, and he'll start speaking out when bogus stories arise. Hey, maybe he'll be able to debunk untruths faster that way.