In a surprising turn of events, Barron Trump has been removed from the delegate roster at the 2024 Republican National Convention. 

A spokesperson for his mother, former First Lady Melania Trump, has indicated as much in a statement that was released on Friday.

The Daily Mail has published the statement, which reads:

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

The outlet notes that "No further details were given."

Background

One of the big news stories of the week was that former President Donald Trump's youngest child - 18-year-old Barron Trump - was going to enter into politics.

Fox News reported, "The 18-year-old was picked by the Republican Party of Florida on Wednesday night as one of the state’s at-large delegates to the Republican National Convention, according to a copy of the results."

The outlet added, "Republican Party of Florida chairman Evan Power said the 18-year-old high school senior will serve as one of 41 at-large delegates from Florida to the national gathering, where the GOP is set to officially nominate his father as its presidential candidate for the November general election."

This, in itself, was a big surprise, as Barron - along with his mother, Melania - has avoided the public spotlight.

But, then reports were released which suggested that this was not that big of a surprise.

Following in his father's footsteps

The Daily Mail, this week, released a separate report in which it provided some new personal details about Barron, including that he has political aspirations.

The outlet wrote:

As he prepares to serve as the delegate for Florida at the Republican National Convention, sources tell us the strapping 6ft 7in teen who has never uttered a word in public is nonetheless a steadfast supporter of the Trump 2024 campaign behind the scenes. And – perhaps more ominously for the former President's Democratic opponents – he's also expressed an interest in following in his 77-year-old father's footsteps.

So, it seemed to make sense that, now that he is 18, he would start getting involved. And, dad seemed to be on board with his son serving as a delegate.

But, apparently, it was not meant to be.

Many are now wondering why Barron will not serve as a delegate, including whether his mother, the former first lady, had any role in the decision. At the time of the writing, it is unclear.