Surrounded by family on his big night at Republican Convention, Donald Trump accepted the nomination for the 2024 presidential race.
Melania Trump made a grand entrance ahead of Trump’s acceptance speech in her first appearance at this week’s RNC convention. She came alone, without the former First Couple’s son, Barron Trump.
During his speech, Trump thanked all his children “Don, Kimberly, Ivanka and Jared, Eric and Lara, Tiffany and Michael, Barron.”
He added a shoutout to his absent son; “We love our Barron.” It drew a thunderous applause.
Trump also gave thanks to Melania Trump and his 10 grandchildren, many of whom were seen with him throughout the night.
One night earlier, Trump’s eldest granddaughter, Kai Trump, 17, spoke about her grandfather, describing him as “normal grandpa” that always asks about school and sneaks sweets and treats when her parents aren’t looking.
Where was Barron Trump?
Although Barron Trump was invited with his brothers to attend the Republican National Convention as a Florida delegate, in May, his mother delivered a statement that he would not be able to attend due to prior commitments.
Barron Trump has been noticeably absent from his father’s campaign trail; his first and last appearance was on July 9 at a campaign rally in Miami.
Barron Trump fans have been waiting on news of the 18-year-old’s college decision. His father said at that Miami rally that Barron had been accepted into all of the schools he wanted to attend.
After a standing ovation for Barron Trump during the July 9 rally, Donald Trump joked “You’re pretty popular; he might be more popular than Don and Eric, we gotta talk about this.” (Don and Eric are Barron’s older brothers.)
Barron Trump was not at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania a few days later when a shooter attempted to assassinate his father. Two people were killed, including the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks and a spectator, Corey Comperatore. Two others were injured.
Maria Francis is a Pennsylvania-based journalist covering trending issues across the Mid-Atlantic Region.