Barron Trump was the only one of Donald Trump’s five children not in attendance at his father’s closing-night speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday.
The 18-year-old’s mysterious absence was expected, with his mother Melania Trump’s office issuing a statement back in May that he would not be in attendance—despite the fact that the Republican Party of Florida had picked him to serve as one of the state’s at-large delegates at the convention.
“While Barron is honored to have been chosen… he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments,” Melania’s office said.
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A Trump campaign official re-confirmed to Politico earlier on Thursday that Barron would skip the proceedings.
Still, Barron, who graduated high school earlier this year and plans to attend a still-unnamed college in the fall, received a sweet if slightly strange shout-out from former President Trump as he spoke onstage on Thursday night.
“I also wanna thank my entire family for being here. Don, Kimberly, Ivanka and Jared. Eric and Lara. Tiffany and Michael. Barron.” Trump paused, smiling, and mumbled, “We love our Barron.” The crowd laughed.
The rest of the Trump clan all served in front-facing roles over the convention’s three days. Don Jr., Eric, and Tiffany all served as at-large delegates for Florida; both Don Jr. and Eric addressed the audience in Milwaukee on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, and Kai Trump, Don Jr.’s daughter, also spoke at the convention.
Melania, meanwhile, made a rare public appearance at the convention on Thursday night, walking into the arena minutes before her husband was set to take the stage.
The former first lady, who has been conspicuously absent from the campaign trail this year, did not address the convention—a decision that breaks with decades of precedent set by other Republican nominees’ wives. (She spoke at both the 2016 and 2020 conventions.)
Barron, who turned 18 in March, has led a more private life than the other Trump children. He appeared at one of his father’s campaign rallies for the first time on July 9 in Miami, Florida, where he received a standing ovation.
“That’s the first time he’s done it. That’s the first time, right?” Trump told the crowd, according to The Hill. “You’re pretty popular—he might be more popular than Don and Eric. We gotta talk about this.”
The teenager was not present at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, four days later, where a gunman attempted to kill Trump, killing one attendee and critically injuring two others in the process.
A day later, Melania released a lengthy statement condemning the “heinous act.” The former first lady said that, as she watched the “violent bullet” clip her husband, she realized that both her and Barron’s lives were “on the brink of devastating change.”
Richard Grenell, a Trump loyalist who previously served in a number of roles in his administration, including ambassador to Germany, said at a Bloomberg event on Monday that the attempted assassination had deeply disturbed Melania.
“I think she’s shaken,” he said, according to Politico. “Barron goes to school this summer, so it’s a difficult time for parents to go from having your child around all the time to leaving the nest. I think it really shook her.”
