Report: Barron didn't want to move to White House when Trump was first elected in 2016
Barron Trump, the youngest son of former President Donald Trump, has lived a rather atypical life not of his choosing since his father first entered politics nearly a decade ago.
That includes living in the White House as a young boy, which Trump once revealed was initially not an appealing prospect to his son, the Irish Times reported.
The unwanted impact on his childhood of his father's presidency may also be a reason why Barron's involvement in Trump's political campaigns has been exceptionally limited, even as Barron is now technically an adult at 18.
Reportedly didn't want to move into White House
Barron Trump moved into the White House at age 10 shortly after former President Trump first took office, and he was reportedly less than pleased about the disruption to his living arrangements at that time, per the Times.
In an interview ahead of the 2016 election, Trump said of his youngest son's trepidation about potentially moving to Washington D.C., "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 added. "He's a young boy who is nine years old and he is strong and smart and he gets it. He sees it."
The Times further noted that former first lady Melania Trump did her best to shelter her young son from the harsh and often brutal world of politics while some in the media did their worst to try and break through that hedge of protection.
The media attention aimed at Barron got so bad at times even former first daughters who hated his father, such as Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush, came to the young boy's defense and urged members of the media and partisan activists to leave him alone.
Was picked to participate in GOP convention but declined
Previously, other than a handful of appearances at major events, Barron was rarely seen as a participant in former President Trump's political campaigns, and though he is now no longer a young child at 18, that still hasn't changed much.
There was a brief flurry of anticipation about Barron's reported entry into the political arena in May when he was selected to be a delegate for Florida to nominate his father at the Republican National Convention in July, but that idea was essentially canceled just a day later by a statement from his mother, according to ABC News.
The office of the former first lady said, "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."
Barron recently appeared at a Trump rally
Yet, just two months later, and just days before the convention began, Barron made his first appearance at one of his father's campaign rallies in South Florida, where the crowd of the former president's supporters welcomed him with roaring cheers and resounding applause, according to HuffPost.
"Barron Trump! This is the first time he’s ever done it, Barron," Trump said as he asked his son to stand and acknowledge the crowd. "That’s the first time he’s done it. That’s the first time, right?"
"You’re pretty popular, he might be more popular than Don and Eric, we gotta talk about this. Hey Don, we gotta talk about this," Trump joked to his adult sons in attendance, Don Jr. and Eric, about the standing ovation Barron received. "So Barron, it’s good to have you. Welcome to the scene, Barron, I don’t know. He had such a nice, easy life. Now, it’s a little bit changed. Anyway. Special guy, right?"