Barron Trump's Evolution from 2017 to 2025: A Transformation Examination of the First Son

On Monday, Barron Trump, the youngest son of President Trump and at 18 years old, took center stage during his father's inauguration.

Since his father first took office in January 2017, many attendees and viewers have commented on how much the younger Trump has grown up, standing at a towering 6'9".

Barron Trump, at 10 years old, frequently faced cruel jokes and rumors from his father's critics. Despite his mother's efforts to protect him from unwanted scrutiny, Melania Trump, she was unable to shield him completely.

During the inaugural ceremonies, Barron Trump commanded respect from onlookers as he stood by his father's side. Here's a look at how he has grown up since 2017.

2017

Since John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1961, Barron Trump, at 10 years old, was the first son to live in the White House.

In March 2017, Barron, who was 11 years old, resided at Trump Tower in New York while attending Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School on the Upper West Side.

Since 2016, there have been rumors about Barron Trump possibly having autism, which comedian Rosie O'Donnell amplified. In 2024, Melania Trump stated that the rumors deeply affected her son, who was bullied at school.

"In her memoir, Melania Trump expressed her shock at the cruelty she witnessed, stating that it was evident that the person in question had no intention of raising awareness about autism. She believed that the individual was targeting her son because they did not like her husband."

"Although O'Donnell's tweet suggested that autism was shameful, it is not, and Barron's experience of being bullied online and in real life following the incident highlights the lasting harm caused."

2018

In March 2018, Barron Trump turned 12 years old and remained a frequent object of criticism from Trump's adversaries.

Peter Fonda made a controversial statement, urging authorities to take Barron Trump away from his mother and imprison him alongside pedophiles. He later expressed regret for his words.

"Fonda admitted that she tweeted something highly inappropriate and vulgar about the president and his family in response to the devastating images she was seeing on television. She went too far in her impassioned and distraught state over the situation with children separated from their families at the border."

2019

In 2019, when Barron was 13, his family permanently moved to Mar-a-Lago. That year, Trump stated that he would have difficulty permitting his son to participate in football.

"Trump stated that he dislikes the reports about football, as it is a dangerous sport and he believes it is challenging. He added that he thought the equipment would improve, but while the helmets have gotten better, it hasn't resolved the issue."

During a 2019 House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing, Stanford law professor Pamela Karlan stated that President Trump couldn't make his son Barron a baron just by naming him so.

Melania Trump was upset that her young son was mentioned at the hearing.

"The first lady criticized Pamela Karlan for using a minor child in her biased political pandering."

2020

During Trump's 2020 re-election campaign and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the US, Barron Trump remained in school and kept a low profile. In 2020, "Jeopardy" host Ken Jennings expressed regret for a 2017 joke about Barron.

"Jennings tweeted about seeing a long necktie and expired deli meat in a dumpster, thinking it was his dad and breaking his heart."

"In 2020, Jennings admitted that he had tweeted some unartful and insensitive things on Twitter, which he regretted. He realized that some of his jokes didn't translate well on screen and caused offense."

2021

At the time of his father's departure from office in January, Barron Trump was 14 years old. He resided at Mar-a-Lago with his mother and kept a low profile.

In July 2021, he was seen leaving Trump Tower with Melania Trump.

2022

In July 2022, Barron Trump, who was 16 at the time, was seen in public with both of his parents at the funeral of Ivana Trump, Trump's first wife.

In November 2022, his father announced his bid for the presidency.

2023

In 2023, as President Trump's campaign resumed, Barron remained out of the public eye. That August, his father's mugshot was made public.

2024

In May 2024, Barron Trump graduated from Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach and began attending classes at NYU's Stern School of Business.

In November, he cast his first ballot for his father in Florida.

2025

On Jan. 20, Barron looked sharp at his father's inauguration. Later in the day, he waved to the crowd after his father mentioned his role in the 2024 campaign.

"My son Barron is very tall. Has anyone ever heard of him?" Trump asked, to applause, as Barron waved to the crowd.

"Trump remembered saying, "Dad, you got to go out, do Joe Rogan, do all these guys," and recalled that they won the youth vote by 36 points."

The young man, 18 years old, impressed attendees by shaking hands with President Biden and Vice President Harris, leading some social media users to speculate about a future political career.

"Joe Biden and Kamala Harris shook hands with Barron Trump," one X user wrote. "This young man will be our President one day. Bet on it."

""Barron Trump was a natural and totally owned the moment," someone remarked."

Planet Chronicle Digital's Brooke Curto and Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report.