Barron Trump "declined" delegate invite to GOP convention, Melania Trump said in statement
Barron Trump may vote for his father in November, but he won't be casting a ballot for Republican nominee Donald Trump at this summer's Republican Convention.
On Friday night, his mother, former first lady Melania Trump, issued a statement through her office saying that while the 18-year-old was "honored" to have been offered the opportunity, he has declined the offer. The statement cited Barron's "prior commitments" for the decision but did not elaborate.
Barron, a senior at Oxbridge Academy just west of West Palm Beach, is scheduled to graduate May 17.
The sole child of the former first couple was to have been part of a Trump family affair at the mid-July convention in Milwaukee.
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Barron's older half-brother, Eric Trump, will serve as the state delegation's chairman, as announced by the Republican Party of Florida. Donald Trump Jr. is a delegate, as are half-sister Tiffany (Trump) Boulos and her husband, Michael Boulos.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, fiance?e of Donald Jr., will be on the platform committee. Eric's spouse, Lara, is vice chair of the event's host, the Republican National Committee.
The former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee said in an interview with the Spanish-language Telemundo 51 network, owned by NBC, that he supported the inclusion of his youngest son in the delegation.
"He’s pretty young, I will say. He’s 17," Trump said, albeit misstating Barron's age. "But if they can do that, I’m all for it."
No mention of Ivanka Trump, or role for Melania
The one Trump daughter not mentioned in convention attendance was Ivanka. She and her husband, Jared Kushner, live in Miami but have publicly stated they are focused on non-political activities. Both served as advisers on Trump's White House policy staff.
What role Melania Trump will play at the convention has not been revealed. In 2016, she delivered a speech that drew scrutiny, and criticism, for similarities to the one Michelle Obama gave at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Melania also spoke at the 2020 event.
So far, the former first lady has been largely absent from the political arena. She has not attended her husband's campaign rallies, or his court appearances.
She did, however, join him for the Trumpettes fan club gala in February at their Mar-a-Lago estate and cast their ballots at a Palm Beach community center for the Florida presidential preference primary March 19.
She attended a dinner for Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán at Mar-a-Lago, and the reportedly record-setting fundraising dinner at the Palm Beach home of financier John Paulson last month. She also hosted a gathering at the Trumps' private club for the Log Cabin Republicans, a conservative LGBTQ+ organization.
Earlier this month, she posted on X, formerly Twitter, a Mothers' Day necklace she is selling for $245.
Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at [email protected]. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Barron Trump will not be a Florida delegate at GOP convention in July
