Former President Donald Trump shared a message about son Barron ahead of the 18-year-old's high school graduation Friday morning.
"Going to Barron's High School Graduation. Great student, wonderful boy! Very exciting!!!" Trump wrote in a post to his social media platform Truth Social.
The Context
Barron, 18, is Trump's youngest child and only child with Melania Trump. He is graduating from Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday.
What We Know
Trump will attend the graduation despite initial concerns that his hush money payment trial in New York City may have prevented him from being able to go to the ceremony.
Judge Juan Merchan last month decided to allow Trump to travel to Florida to attend the graduation because the trial was on schedule. That means there are no court proceedings on Friday, and the trial will resume on Monday.
During an event at Mar-a-Lago earlier in May, Trump said that Barron is "doing a great job" in school and has "great marks." He said that Barron will "be going to college soon," but the Trump family has remained quiet about where he plans to attend.
In a September 2023 interview with Megyn Kelly, the former president said Barron was "thinking about" attending his alma mater, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, adding that Barron is a "great student" and athlete.
Three of Trump's other children, Ivanka, Tiffany and Donald Jr., also attended the University of Pennsylvania.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment via email.
Views
Many of Trump's supporters posted congratulations messages to posts on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
"BARRON TRUMP RECEIVES HIS DIPLOMA," wrote @_johnnymaga, who added a fire emoji to his post.
"Barron Trump's high school graduation today where Melania, Donald, and Viktor Knavs were all in attendance. Congratulations Barron!" posted the X profile FLOTUS Report.
"Congratulations to Barron Trump on graduating from high school!" wrote right-leaning news outlet The Post Millennial.
What's Next
Later on Friday, Trump is expected to make an appearance at the Minnesota Republican Party's annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner in St. Paul.
Some critics have questioned whether Trump would be able to attend both the graduation and fundraiser, but the dinner is not set to begin until 5 p.m. A source close to the campaign previously confirmed to Newsweek that Trump will have time to attend Barron's graduation and go to the fundraiser.
Update 5/17/24, 11:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 5/17/24 12:00 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more
