Fact Check: This Pic of Teenage Barron Trump Might Make You Do a Double-Take
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Claim:
An image shared in January 2024 authentically depicted 17-year-old Barron Trump, who is 6 feet, 7 inches tall.
Rating:
When former U.S. President Donald Trump took office in 2017, his youngest son, Barron Trump, was a mere 10 years old. Seven years later, the now teenage Barron towers above his father, as seen in a recent series of viral photos.
In January 2024, one such image went viral on Reddit depicting Donald Trump standing alongside former first lady Melania Trump and Barron, as well as the former first lady's father, Viktor Knavs. The post received 38,000 upvotes and 7,200 comments less than 24 hours after its posting, as of this writing.
"I thought this was photoshop, what the hell?!" One of the top comments read. "Wasn't that the little kid fighting to stay awake at Trump's inauguration? That was.... 7 years ago. Oh."
The image is indeed real; it was taken as a part of a 16-photo series by Associated Press photographer Rebecca Blackwell on Jan. 18, 2024.
The occasion was the funeral of Melania's mother, Amalija Knavs, who died of an undisclosed sickness at the age of 78 on Jan. 9, 2024.
The image was shot as the four family members exited the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida, where the funeral was held.
(AP)
The full caption for the image was as follows:
Former President Donald Trump, center, stands with his wife Melania, second right, their son Barron, left, and father-in-law Viktor Knavs, second left, at the end of the funeral for the former first lady's mother Amalija Knavs, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Fla.,. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
"Her nurturing spirit had no limits, creating a legacy that will last for generations," Melania said in her eulogy, according to the Daily Mail. "With her beauty and impeccable sense of style she turned heads. But it was her unwavering dedication and hard work that made her exceptional."
The teenager, just a boy when his father was inaugurated as president in 2017, is indeed 6 feet 7, according to news outlets such as the Palm Beach Post, the Daily Mail, and the Hindustan Times.
He also appears noticeably taller than his father, who reportedly stands at 6 feet 3, according to potus.com. However, there has been some doubt as to the accuracy of this number, as a Politico article found that the height listed on his driver's license was actually 6 feet 2.
(AP)
We've previously reported on other rumors related to the Trump family, including whether these photos of Barron Trump were real and how Donald Trump and football quarterback Lamar Jackson compare in terms of weight and height.
Sources:
Melania Trump Gives Eulogy at Mother’s Funeral. 19 Jan. 2024. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68026771.
‘Melania Trump Remembers Her Mother as “a Ray of Light in the Darkest Days”’. AP News, 18 Jan. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/melania-trump-mother-funeral-dc3335f53faf5533257471796eb9af8b.
NEUMEISTER, JAKE OFFENHARTZ and LARRY. ‘Columnist Accusing Trump of Sex Assault Faces Cross-Examination in a New York Courtroom’. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Presidential Heights | Presidents of the United States (POTUS). https://potus.com/presidential-facts/presidential-heights/. Accessed 19 Jan. 2024.
Press, TERRY SPENCER-Associated. ‘Melania Trump Remembers Her Mother as “a Ray of Light in the Darkest Days”’. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, 18 Jan. 2024, https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/us/melania-trump-remembers-her-mother-as-a-ray-of-light-in-the-darkest-days/article_40771a11-5765-55b8-8b75-b3bee3715ec1.html.
Samuelsohn, Darren. ‘Trump’s Driver’s License Casts Doubt on Height Claims’. POLITICO, 23 Dec. 2016, https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/trump-drivers-license-height-232948.
Trump Joins Wife Melania at Her Mother’s Funeral near Mar-a-Lago. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDfQNNlscLY. Accessed 19 Jan. 2024.
‘What Is Barron Trump’s Height? Ex-President’s Youngest Son Spotted at Grandmother’s Funeral’. Hindustan Times, 19 Jan. 2024, https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/what-is-barron-trumps-height-101705664054984.html.
White, Nic. ‘Barron Trump, 6.7 Towers over His Father at Grandmother’s Funeral’. Mail Online, 18 Jan. 2024, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12980173/barron-trump-donald-melania-mother-funeral-florida.html.
