Donald Trump got his son's age wrong during an interview on Thursday, saying that Barron Trump is 17 when he is actually 18.
The former president was speaking to Miami's Telemundo 51 on May 9 when he was asked a question about his son Barron entering politics. The teen will be a delegate for Florida at the upcoming Republican National Convention in July.
"He's pretty young, I will say. He's 17. But if they can do that, I'm all for it," Trump told Telemundo 51, NBC Universal's Spanish-language network. However, Barron Trump turned 18 in March.
In response to the news clip, Trump's spokesperson Steven Cheung told Newsweek: "NBC News has lost its mind and clearly suffers from Trump Derangement Syndrome. Instead of focusing on President Trump's second term agenda and undoing Crooked Joe Biden's disastrous policies, NBC has chosen to engage in tabloid journalism fit for the checkout aisle of a grocery story."
Barron Trump—Donald Trump's fifth child—is the son of his wife Melania Trump.
His older half-brothers Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump—whose mother is the late Czech-American businesswoman and Donald Trump's first wife, Ivana Trump—will be joining him as delegates for Florida. His half-sister Tiffany Trump will also be a delegate for the state. Her mother is Trump's second wife, TV star Marla Maples.
The Trumps have largely kept Barron out of the spotlight until now. After the business mogul was elected president in 2016, the couple waited until the end of the school year to move the 10-year-old into the White House, to avoid disrupting his education.
At the time, the Republican politician said Barron found the move from New York to Washington, D.C., "a little scary," but that his son is "strong and smart and he gets it."
Slovenian native Melania Trump has reportedly raised her son to be bilingual, and is said to be very protective of Barron. The high-schooler will be graduating from Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida, on May 17, with Donald Trump asking to pause his New York criminal trial to attend the ceremony.
The real estate tycoon is facing 34 felony charges of falsifying business documents, allegedly to conceal "hush money" payments to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 general election. The adult film actress said that she and Trump had a one-night stand in 2006. The Apprentice star has denied the claim and charges against him.
Although presiding Judge Juan Merchan has granted Trump permission to attend his son's graduation, the issue initially sparked outrage among MAGA supporters. The 77-year-old previously suggested he was banned from attending his son's graduation ceremony, calling Merchan "seriously conflicted and corrupt."
However, Merchan said Trump is fine to attend the ceremony, as long as the trial remained on schedule, later confirming it would "not be a problem."
Trump, who is the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential candidate, will also reportedly deliver the key-note speech at the Minnesota Republican Party's annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner on the same date.
Update 05/10/24, 4:10 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include further information on Barron Trump and Donald Trump's New York criminal trial.
Update 05/10/24, 7:39 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comment from a representative for Donald Trump.
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