Donald Trump’s stunning presidential election victory is the result of multiple things — from the much shorter campaign run of his opponent, to voters’ trust in his supposed vision for the economy — but few have credited the president-elect’s win to his son, Barron Trump.
That is, until recent comments made by Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of the Republican candidate who recently shared details of Barron’s role in helping his father get reelected. Gushing about the 18-year-old — Trump’s youngest child — in a new episode of Patrick Bet-David’s podcast, Lara said Barron should be given “serious credit” for his influence on the campaign and reflected on how her brother-in-law stayed mostly in the shadows while exerting this influence.
“Barron is so cool,” Lara said. “He’s like the sleeper a little bit. He’s kind of stayed out of the spotlight, probably intentionally.” Lara claimed she’d witnessed Barron suggest many ideas to his father throughout the presidential race. “Barron will call and say, ‘Dad, I have an idea of how you can get more votes,’” Lara recalled, “and it’ll be, you know, ‘you need to go to this baseball stadium’ or whatever.” She said the youngest Trump child was “always throwing ideas out there,” some of which are thought to have contributed to Trump winning over a key demographic during the election.
For instance, Barron is thought to be responsible for suggesting many of the podcast appearances Trump did throughout his race to the White House. Among other Gen Z-targeted podcasts, Trump gave interviews for The Nelk Boys, Theo Von, and Logan Paul, and Barron was reported to have had a say in Trump’s appearance on Kick influencer Adin Ross’ podcast back in August. Of course, Trump also appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast — Kamala chose not to match his appearance — and garnered a 40-million-strong audience as a result.
The selection of these appearances — on so-called “bro” podcasts with audiences who are sympathetic towards the MAGA movement — was part of Trump’s broader quest to court young male voters, a feat which he eventually achieved. According to analysis by CIRCLE, Trump secured 56% of the vote of young men this election, a 15% increase from the 41% who backed him during his 2020 run. While it can’t truly be known how much of this boils down to Barron, Trump himself has spoken about his son’s influence while on the campaign trail.
“He’s very smart and tall,” Trump told Rogan of his son. “He knows all about you. He knows about guys I’ve never heard of.” Lara and Trump aren’t the only members of the president-elect’s camp to praise Barron’s role in the campaign, with senior Trump adviser Jason Miller saying the teenager’s recommendations have been “absolutely ratings gold.” Miller said Barron was “very involved in selecting or recommending” Trump’s podcast appearances, all of which went on to “[break] the internet” in terms of ratings.
It marks the most recent time the youngest Trump has made headlines this election cycle, from allegations made by a camp counselor about his aggressive behavior to concerns around nepotism and his increasing comparability to his father. For her part, Lara attracted attention after mistakenly saying there are “81 states” in the US, so it’s a good thing it wasn’t her who had a Barron-like influence on the Trump campaign.
Published: Nov 18, 2024 05:05 am