16 April 2024 , 17:26
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Donald Trump is fuming after finding out he may have to miss his son Barron's graduation - and it will be a considerable blow since the pair appear to have a close relationship.
The former president raged yesterday that it "looks like" Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing Trump's criminal hush money trial, will "not let" him attend his son's high school graduation ceremony on May 17 - although that's not quite the truth. Merchan actually said it may be possible for Trump to go to Barron's graduation but it will depend on how the trial develops.
Trump is clearly very keen to get to his son's graduation and, despite he and Melania trying to keep Barron's life private as he was growing up, it's clear the father and son are close. Growing up, Barron spent time in both New York and Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where he attended a prestigious $38,000 (£30,500) school called Oxbridge Academy.
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According to body language expert Judi James, Trump shows a softer side with his son (AFP via Getty Images)According to body language expert Judi James, Trump shows a softer side with his son. Looking at photos of the pair together, Judi described how Trump clearly finds it easier to be paternal with Barron than he seems to with his other children. He isn't embarrassed about giving his son a kiss or hug in front of crowds.
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Judi said: “Barron is a visual chip off the old block, even dressing in a matching suit, and displays like this do seem to imply that Trump sees him as his mini-me heir to the kingdom." Judi went on to say that the older Barron gets the more he and his father become equals, and even calls the young Trump Donald's "co-conspirator".
Melania fell pregnant with Barron in 2005 and both she and Donald have been very protective parents, very rarely sharing details of their private family life with him. So it was a slightly unusual turn of events when Trump did share details about his relationship with Barron in a recent interview.
Talking in an interview with Megyn Kelly about his son and his plans for the future, Trump said: “Our dinners are nice dinners, our dinners are like people’s dinners… we actually get along very well." He added that Barron is a "very good athlete" and said the family are already talking about his plans for college.
Melania fell pregnant with Barron in 2005 and both she and Donald have been very protective parents (instagram/@barrontrumpfn)Trump continued: "Barron’s very tall – about six-eight. And, he’s a good kid. He’s a good-looking kid. He’s a great student, very good student." When asked if the family were considering the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania as an option, Trump said they are "looking at" it as a possibility.
Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1968. His children, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka and Tiffany Trump all graduated from the same university, with Tiffany graduating most recently in 2016.
As the youngest Trump child, Barron grew up among the success of his father's real-estate empire, TV fame with The Apprentice and eventually even his time as president. In 2017 the Trump family moved into the White House and Barron was reportedly promptly given his own room. It's not just at home he lived lavishly, but at school too, with the fifth Trump child attending some of the best private and expensive educational institutions.
The now 18-year-old Barron became Melania's first and Donald Trump's fifth child after he was born in March 2006, just six months after their glamorous wedding ceremony. The former president was "surprised" when Melania told her she was pregnant with Barron. She told People at the time: “He came home [one day last August], and I told him he’d be a daddy. And his reaction was at first he needed to take it in. It was a real surprise. And then he was very happy."
As the youngest Trump child, Barron grew up among the success of his father's real-estate empire (AFP via Getty Images)Donald admitted he always knew he would have children with Melania but didn't expect it to be so quickly. He added: “I expected we were going to have children, so I wasn’t totally surprised. But I was surprised by the speed of it. It happened very quickly.”
The former president took to Truth Social seething yesterday afternoon saying the judge in his criminal case was "prohibiting" him from attending Barron's graduation. Trump wrote: “Who will explain for me, to my wonderful son, Barron, who is a GREAT Student at a fantastic School, that his Dad will likely not be allowed to attend his Graduation Ceremony, something that we have been talking about for years, because a seriously Conflicted and Corrupt New York State Judge wants me in Criminal Court on a bogus “Biden Case” which, according to virtually all Legal Scholars and Pundits, has no merit, and should NEVER have been brought."
Despite these comments, Judge Merchan has not actually made a decision on whether Trump can miss a day of his criminal trial to attend the graduation or not. The only decision that has been made is that Trump cannot miss the criminal trial to attend the Supreme Court's oral arguments for his immunity appeal. Judge Merchan told Trump that if he misses a day of the criminal trial without permission then he could be jailed.
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Trump has been accused of hiding payments to porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged affair. Yesterday marked the first day of the trial at a courthouse in Manhatten, New York, and the first time a former president has ever faced a criminal trial.