Incoming first lady Melania Trump opened up about how her son, Barron Trump, is adapting to life as a college student as his father, President-elect Donald Trump, prepares to return to the White House.
During her first post-election interview, Melania Trump conceded that her son, who is a freshman at New York University, will never have a “normal” college experience, considering who his father is and his Secret Service detail.
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“His experience at college, it’s very different than any other kid,” she told Fox News on Friday. “I’m very proud of how he’s handling, he’s very strong, and he knows that he’s in a different position than other children. I just say, ‘Make your dreams come true. This is your road, this is your life, and make sure that you listen yourself and your likes and dislikes.’”
Melania Trump similarly expressed pride in how her son, 18, helped his father’s campaign appeal to young men before last month’s election by reaching out to and sitting down with certain podcasts and internet personalities, including Adin Ross, a popular gamer and streamer.
“I’m very proud of him about his knowledge, even about politics, and giving an advice to his father,” Melania Trump said. “He brought in so many young people. He knows his generation because nowadays the young generation, they don’t sit in front of TV anymore. They are all on the tablets. Their phones and all of these podcasts and streamers.”
She added: “He was very vocal, and he gave advice to his father and was incredible how he brought in a success because he knew exactly who he, his father, needs to contact and to talk to.”
With six weeks before Donald Trump’s inauguration, Melania Trump compared the 2024 transition to its “challenging” 2016 counterpart, during which she said there was not “much access” to the White House. The president-elect did not invite President Joe Biden to the White House in 2020.
“This time, it is very different because we already know where we are going and we have all of the plans from before. So we don’t need to go back in,” Melania Trump said. “My team is in contact with the White House, so that’s a plus, but we have all what we need. So this is the second time. So it’s nothing new.”
The incoming first lady also said she was “very, very busy” establishing her transition team and office in addition to “organizing the residence and packing.”
“I know what you need to establish, you know what kind of people you need to hire that, to be in your office, so that’s what I’m doing now,” she said. “I’m interviewing people for my office. I’m establishing everything what it needs so we could start on day one, everybody is in, and we start working.”
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Melania Trump simultaneously reflected on her husband’s win, including being the first Republican to win the popular vote since former President George W. Bush in 2004, saying the “energy is different.”
“I see that the country and the people who really support a team and they support him, his focus to make this country great again, and his patriotism, it’s incredible and his hard work as well,” she said. “I hope the country will be united, and that’s what we all hope for, and, you know, I’m always against violence. I think nothing is accomplished with the violence.”
