Seek it or not, Barron Trump and John F. Kennedy Jr. are magnets for public attention

Antonio Fins, Palm Beach Post
·2 min read
22

Besides their Palm Beach connections, Barron Trump and John F. Kennedy Jr. were the only boys in the past century who who spent part of their childhood in the White House.

In different eras, yes, but the intense interest in Trump's high school graduation on May 17 was reminiscent of the public attention that always seemed to follow JFK Jr.

The diploma-awarding ceremony at Oxbridge's Academy's football stadium last week drew so much attention that the private prep school issued an alert reminding the media and the public the event was invitation-only. Throughout his early years, JFK Jr., who died in a 1999 plane crash, drew similar onlooking.

The Palm Beach connection

The Kennedy family had owned a house in Palm Beach since 1933, and John F. Kennedy had been coming to the island since at least 1926.

In fact, a few days after he won the 1960 presidential election, JFK came to his father’s house at 1095 N. Ocean Blvd. with his family. For the next three years during his presidency, JFK would bring the world’s spotlight to Palm Beach.

JFK returned to Palm Beach in 1963 for the last time just a week before he was assassinated in Dallas.

President Donald Trump and his son Barron arrive on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump and his son Barron arrive on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on Tuesday.

More about the Kennedys in Palm Bech: Where the ‘Kennedy identity’ grew

Donald Trump, then a New York real estate tycoon, bought Mar-a-Lago in late 1985 for $10 million and opened his private club a decade later.

During his term as president, Trump, Melania and Barron stayed at Mar-a-Lago during Palm Beach's "social season," roughly from October through April. It became known as the Winter White House or the Southern White House. While Trump used his New York City address as his main residency for years, he made Mar-a-Lago his primary residency in 2019.

Mar-a-Lago was built and owned by Post cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. When she died in 1973, she gave Mar-a-Lago to the U.S. government for a presidential retreat, but the government balked at its million-dollar-a-year maintenance cost and its location under the Palm Beach International Airport’s flight path. The government conferred the title to the Post Foundation, from which Trump bought the mansion.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Barron Trump, John F. Kennedy Jr. have in common includes Palm Beach