Barron Trump turned 18 on Mar. 20, 2024, but those of us living in constant fear of his father Donald Trump’s ascension to the White House come November are already sweating.
The collective anticipatory anxiety concerning the youngest Trump is no surprise given the family’s penchant for nepotism, and there are already behavioral signs of a father-like-son situation. First came allegations made by a camp counselor that Barron “attacked someone with a knife,” when he was a minor. If that wasn’t bad enough, it was also claimed he was prone to nanny-slapping, throwing furniture, and spitting on people.
Then in an April 8 video, current affairs podcast Valuetainment recounted one of the worst misfire jokes of 2024, straight from Barron’s mouth: “Who would ever eat food with a silver spoon? Mine was gold.”
Not even a spoonful of sugar can make this medicine go down
Making such an out-of-touch joke was presumably done in the confidence the other well-to-do people at the table wouldn’t broadcast it to the public. After all, working-class Americans rightfully don’t love hearing quips about excessive wealth while the rental market skyrockets and the idea of home ownership becomes a pipe dream. Oopsie.
Generational wealth is as much a part of the Trump clan’s legacy as FBI investigations are, so it’s hardly surprising to hear it come out of Barron’s mouth. It’s not a good look though, and probably not one his father’s campaign wants to further given how much of its shtick is fighting for blue-collar citizens.
Barron has largely been protected from much of the negative media attention aimed at his family, and reasonably so. He was a child during the Trump administration’s reign and often cut a sallow and shy-looking figure during public appearances. But he’s growing up, and if he heads in a Trump-mini-me direction, things will only get worse.
The reaction to the joke is case-in-point, with comparisons to Game of Thrones’ despicable young king Joffrey Lannister quick to come to people’s minds on X.
Barron is beginning to sound like his papa
Hosts Patrick Bet-David, Adam Sosnick, Tom Ellsworth, and Vincent Oshana described a dinner hosted by the young man at Mar-a-Lago. They say they were invited personally by Barron, a fan of the show. The rest of the podcast episode featured the hosts complimenting Barron’s apparent wit and charm, probably hungry for their next invite.
Other topics of conversation at the dinner were reportedly Barron’s college choices. We know he eventually picked New York University, which his mother Melania Trump confirmed in a Fox & Friends interview. She said Barron had opted to reside in Trump Tower instead of student dorms. We can’t blame him for this in good faith — we’ve seen Gossip Girl and know which housing we’d prefer.
Still, a life so far removed from the average person’s everyday reality may be the cause of his horrendous taste in humor. Perhaps there’s hope that, like cult followers having an epiphany after witnessing something extra egregious, Barron might one day seek to clarify where he stands on things as an individual, not just an extension of the Trump family tree.
His half-brothers have gone the way of being Donald 2.0 models, but who’s to say Barron won’t end up like Mary Trump? Donald’s niece will not vote for him in November and has publicly distanced herself from his politics on countless occasions. It would be nice to be reminded that cycles can be broken. What are the chances? We wouldn’t bet our mortgage on it, even if we had one to gamble with.