Donald Trump’s teenage son Barron launches foray into politics
Donald Trump’s son Barron is to enter the political arena after his high school graduation as one of the delegates who will officially pick his father to be the Republican candidate for president.
The 18-year-old, who is the son of Melania Trump, has been deliberately shielded from public life for much of his childhood.
However, he has agreed to step into the spotlight of the Republican National Convention in July as a member of the 125-strong Florida delegation that will endorse Mr Trump as a candidate.
Mr Trump’s youngest child, who towers over his father at 6ft 7ins, finishes high school on May 17.
Under the party’s election rules, a presidential candidate needs a majority of votes from convention delegates to officially secure the nomination.
Delegates are assigned according to the results of state primary or caucus votes held in the months before.
The 2024 convention will be a rubber-stamping exercise for Mr Trump, 77, who has already secured the support of enough delegates nationwide to claim victory over rivals such as Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis.
Trump family ‘working together’
In addition to Barron, the Florida delegation at the convention, which takes place from July 15 to 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will include a host of Trump family members.
Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, as well as the presumptive nominee’s youngest daughter, Tiffany, are on the delegate list.
Also chosen are Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr’s fiancée, and Michael Boulos, Tiffany’s husband.
Mr Trump’s oldest daughter, Ivanka, who served as an adviser to her father during his term in the White House, has said she will not be part of his 2024 campaign.
The family members attending the convention are all “at-large” delegates for Florida - the location of Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home - as opposed to “district” delegates who represent specific areas of the state.
Eric Trump will serve as the delegation’s chairman.
Evan Power, chairman of the Florida Republican Party, said: “We are fortunate to have a great group of grassroots leaders, elected officials, and members of the Trump family working together as part of the Florida delegation to the 2024 Republican National Convention.”
