Since 2016, The Trump family has dominated the media and has become one of the most watched and well-known families in the United States. Until 2024, it was only the main six members of Trump family in the spotlight: Donald Trump Sr., Melania, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka, Eric, and Tiffany. Since Donald Trump announced his reelection campaign, his youngest son Barron, 18, and his first grandchild Kai, 17, have extended themselves from just being political figures to becoming social media influencers. Their reach to younger audiences has shown people that there is more to the Trump family than what the media covers.
Barron’s media presence has been limited, but his influence continues to grow.
While never directly in the spotlight, Barron has always been indirectly covered whether it is from paparazzi photos or interviews that his family has conducted. The 18-year-old is currently a first-year student at NYU Stern School of Business, and he has been spotted on campus a few times. Barron plans to go down a path in real estate. In 2024 he co-founded a company with his friend, which was dissolved due to the election, but rumors say he plans to relaunch in July 2025. “He was accepted to a lot of colleges,” Donald Trump Sr. said on People Magazine. “He was accepted to a very good college in New York.” Barron’s mother had this to say, “I hope he will have a great experience,” Melania Trump said on People Magazine. “Because his life is very different than any other 18, 19-year-old child.”
During his reelection campaign, Donald Trump Sr. participated in a couple podcasts with hosts such as Lex Fridman, Theo Von, and Joe Rogan. These podcasts are what sparked a climb in young voters as they saw Trump in a new, interesting light, compared to the scripted media and press conferences he is seen in. The podcast angle worked because most people, especially young adults, have been hooked on podcasts for the past couple of years. Donald Trump Sr. credits his youngest son for the idea of going on podcasts and spreading his voice across young people’s minds. “I have a very tall son named Barron,” Donald Trump Sr. said. “Has anyone ever heard of him? Thank you. He knew the youth vote; you know we won the youth vote by 36 points. And he was saying ‘Dad you got to go out and do this one or that one [podcasts] and we did a lot of them. He said, ‘Dad you got to go out, do Joe Rogan, do all these guys and we did.” Donald Trump Sr. Credited his son during one of many inauguration speeches on January 20th. Barron rallied up the applause by making a gesture with his hand signifying, “I can’t hear you.”
“I watched parts of the podcast when it came out,” junior Easton Myny said. “I like Trump and thought it was cool to see him have a good conversation with Joe Rogan.”
Although not directly present in the media, in late 2024, Barron Trump’s growing online presence was heightened by a viral video called, ‘I Like My Suitcase.’ The video contained rare footage of a young four-year old Barron, who at the time, had picked up hints of a Slovenian accent, courtesy to his mother, simply talking and jumping up and down for joy simply about how much he liked his suitcase and how he was preparing to go to school that day. The video particularly went viral on TikTok where creators were making duets to the video or reacting to it. Other creators represented the video by using the remixed song from the video, created by user schmoyoho. Another video of Barron also went viral of him from an even younger age, talking to a reporter with his mother about how he wants big drums for Christmas.
“To be honest,” junior Isabela Suka said. “The ‘I Like My Suitcase’ video was funny at first but got annoying after a while because it was overplayed. But it was the first time I ever heard Barron Trump’s voice which was interesting.”
While opinions on the viral video were mixed, it most definitely created lots of hype around Barron Trump, after it gave a rare glimpse into his personal life. As his online presence surged, another member of the Trump family gained great online attention.
Barron is not the only popular young member of the Trump Family. Kai Trump, first daughter of Donald Trump Jr., has also blossomed online over the past few months. At just 17, Kai accumulated a whopping 985,000 YouTube subscribers, 1,500,000 Instagram followers, and 2,900,000 TikTok followers. Though she is related to Donald Trump Sr., Kai’s popularity and her incredible golf ability go hand in hand. Kai started playing golf at just two years old, which became public knowledge after she posted a vlog on her channel titled, “Who knows me better? (Best Friend VS Mom.) Kai has played beautiful courses with the help of her grandfather and is committed to playing collegiate golf at the University of Miami after graduating high school in 2026.
For the past three months, Kai has been posting a new video on YouTube once a week, her debut video posted around 3 months ago titled, ‘A Regular Day In The Life Of Kai Trump.’ Kai’s channel features her and her friends in her videos. She likes to vlog her everyday life whether it is going to surprise her friends at the mall, going to play golf, or if it is getting ready to watch her grandfather be sworn in as president for the second time. Kai also has mentioned before on social media about times when her and her Uncle Barron would play hide-and-seek in the White house during Donald Trump Sr.’s first term. During Donald Trump Sr.’s reelection campaign, Kai had this to say at one of his events, “To me, he’s just a normal grandpa. He gives us candy and soda when our parents aren’t looking. He always wants to know how we’re doing in school. When I made the high honor roll, he printed it out to show his friends, how proud he was of me.” Kai’s appearances during the reelection campaign only boosted her public image more. Although she was born into a conservative family, Kai keeps her content neutral, aside from occasionally showing her support for her grandfather with phrases like, “Go Grandpa!”
“I was actually surprised how like normal she was,” junior Liz Zhagui said. “I don’t know anything about her really but when I saw her on my For You Page on TikTok, I expected her to be like a brat and all about government with like secret service following her everywhere.”
While Kai Trump is more directly in the spotlight compared to her uncle, they both have had solid impact on changing the ways people view their family. Barron’s influence behind the scenes and Kai’s public posts have shown people that they are just like any other family, and that they are just like any other teenagers who are going through life just like we are.
Overall, Barron and Kai Trump have shaped their public image to cater to younger people. Through social media, young people have learned about the more personal and down-to-earth sides of them, courtesy of their family. Beyond the spotlight in the political world, they have proven that they are normal teenagers who go through things just like the common teenager does. This has undoubtedly made them more likeable and has allowed them to cater to younger audiences.
