Former President Donald Trump's youngest son Barron, likely due to his young age and the protectiveness of his parents, is rarely seen in public and not much is known about him.

It appears that even some of Barron's family members are somewhat unfamiliar with him, as older brother Eric Trump recently made a mistake in referencing his younger sibling's current age, according to The List.

That mistake -- Eric said Barron was 15 when he is actually 17 -- opened up the former president's middle son to harsh criticism and mockery as well as accusations and rumors that Trump family members aren't as close to each other as they publicly profess.

Eric got Barron's age wrong

Eric Trump recently addressed the Christian conservative ReAwaken America convention and made a comparative reference to the House Oversight Committee's Biden family corruption investigation that uncovered evidence of the proceeds of Hunter Biden's dubious foreign business dealings being funneled through a variety of accounts and shell companies owned by various members of the family, including some of the family's younger children.

Trump told the crowd, "Can you imagine if I was doing shady deals and I was sending money to Barron's bank account? Barron at 15 years old would be in jail, I'd be in jail, my father would be in jail. Frankly, we wouldn't even have a trial -- the trial would be over before it even started."

Eric this past weekend says his brother Barron is 15 years old. He turns 18 this March. pic.twitter.com/k1IgVPY2uQ

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 20, 2023

Similar mistaken age reference in June

The List likened that incident this past weekend to one earlier this year in June when Eric Trump appeared on Newsmax and discussed the ideological left's weaponization of the justice system to go after their political opponents, which included a reference to the August 2022 FBI raid of former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida.

"If you get in the way of the Democratic Party, if you question their power, if you interfere with their little fiefdom, they will target you, they will come after you, and they will try and destroy your life," he said at the time.

"It is rape and pillage, they will burn down the street -- it doesn't matter for these people, they will take out innocent people," Trump added. "They will go after your family, they will go after your kids, they will raid, you know, Barron's room, who's a 16-year-old kid, a 15-year-old kid, they'll go through his underwear drawer, they'll send the FBI, they'll spy on your campaign. We've seen it all."

Mistake received mostly critical accusations and a few reasonable explanations

OK Magazine reported that Eric Trump was all but digitally crucified with harsh criticism and savage mockery over his mistake about his younger brother Barron's age in his speech at the conservative convention last weekend.

Some users suggested that it seemed like the two brothers didn't even really know each other despite the Trump family's claims to cherish and respect traditional family values.

Others suggested that Barron had perhaps been sheltered too much by former first lady Melania Trump, including from his own older siblings, while still others surmised that Eric, as well as his father, was suffering from the early onset of mental health and cognitive issues like Alzheimer's or dementia.

The List also pointed out some of the criticism aimed at Eric, including accusations that the two brothers "barely know each other" or that Eric "doesn't really care about his brother from another mother."

However, the former president's middle and youngest son had a few defenders who raised the logical possibility that Eric was referring to Barron's age a few years ago or highlighted the fact that there is a 22-year age difference between the older brother, who is consumed with helping to run the family business, and the younger brother who is still in school and lives at home with his mother.