Barron Trump is being groomed to take over the Trump empire and the graduation fuss proves it

By Abby Amoakuh

Published Apr 16, 2024 at 01:19 PM

Reading time: 3 minutes

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Image courtesy of Kristin Callahan/Shutterstock

Donald Trump was truly an exceptional president—just not in the way White Republicans think he was. On Monday 15 April 2024, the Manhattan real estate mogul officially became the first former US president subject to a criminal trial. Surprisingly, this didn’t seem to be the news that shook Mr Trump the most though. Instead, he seemed way more upset about the realisation that he was –hold your breath–not be given a day off to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation in Florida. Let’s take a look at this debacle that seems to be evidently far more shocking than the prospect of jail.

Trump had asked for the criminal proceedings to be suspended on Friday 17 May so that he could attend the ceremony. However, Judge Juan Merchan replied: “It really depends on if we are on time and where we are in the trial,” without ruling explicitly on the request. Merchan still warned that if the former president decides just not to show up he will be jailed. Slay.

Keep in mind that Trump has also attempted to delay the trial three times so far, with his lawyers arguing that he should be on the campaign trail rather than “in a courtroom defending himself.” The trial is also expected to be dragged out because of the jury selection that started on Monday, which is expected to take longer than usual. To facilitate a fair trial, the judge has to find unbiased jurors in one of the most liberal counties in the US for a trial featuring one of the most polarising conservatives in American history. Indeed, on Monday, several potential jurors raised their hands to say they could not be unbiased, leaving about 34 people after starting with 96.

When Trump addressed the reporters, he said: “Looks like the judge will not let me go to the graduation of my son who’s worked very, very hard, and he is a great student. I’m very proud that he did so well and I’m looking—[he] was looking forward for years to have his graduation with his mother and father there. It looks like the judge will not allow me to escape this scam, the scam trial.”

Trump finished: “It’s perfect for the radical left Democrats—that’s exactly what they want. This is about election interference, and that’s all it’s about.” If you laughed at this sentence considering the outstanding cases for election interference in Georgia and trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential elections, don’t worry, you’re not alone. There should be a gag order that prevents Trump from using the words election interference in any sentence aside from: “I participated in_.” Just saying.

Some netizens online agreed with Trump and defended his right to attend his son’s graduation: 

Others sided with the judge, agreeing that the matter should be dependent on the progress of the trial and pointed out what Trump stood accused of. The Manhattan case is the most imminently dangerous one to Trump right now because it could be the only one to reach trial before Election Day.

The former reality TV show star could face up to four years in prison if convicted on charges of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal involving pornstar Stormy Daniels.

Many pointed out that the judge had not completely ruled out the possibility of Trump attending and noted that he had been absent for his other children’s graduation.

So, why the special interest in Barron? Well, netizens are assuming that out of all of his children, Barron is the one Trump might be grooming to take over his crooked empire.

Barron Trump is the 18-year-old only child from Trump’s marriage to former model Melania Trump. Barron has barely been in the spotlight during his father’s latest presidential campaign, much like his mother, and has also taken on a muted role during this campaign. Following the end of his father’s presidential term in 2021, Barron transferred to the Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is due to graduate with the class on 17 May.

With a height of 6 feet and 7 inches, Barron towers over all of his siblings, not only physically but also with the constant praise he receives from his father.

In September 2023, Trump praised his youngest son in an interview with former Fox News host Megyn Kelly: “Barron is a very good athlete. He’s a good kid. He’s a good-looking kid. He’s a great student.”

The former president also previously stated: “He has a very good school in New York where he has a lot of friends. But I tell him if this happens, Daddy will help people, and can help children like him, and that makes him happy. He’s a young boy who is 9 years old and he is strong and smart and he gets it. He sees it.” Just normal father-son stuff, you see…

For netizens, this constant praise and safeguarding by his father (a characteristic that seems to be absent with all of his other kids, sorry Ivanka) indicated that Barron might be being groomed to contribute to the Trump family legacy.

Whether this is true or not, time will tell. But for now, we’ll watch closely as the tale around Barron’s graduation attendance list starts to unfold.