Donald Trump: The ex-president has requested an absence from court to attend son Barron's graduation

Donald Trump has five children. The ones you hear about most, Eric, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, are from his marriage to his first wife Ivana Trump. Tiffany Trump - his only daughter from his second marriage - is also a public figure. Lastly, there's Barron, his only child with his current wife Melania Trump.

Throughout the years, Donald’s parenting style has reportedly changed. By the time Barron arrived, Trump was said to have become a ‘hands-off’ father. However, that hasn't stopped him from asking for time off to attend his son's graduation. The problem is that he's not a regular man asking for a day of holiday. The former president is currently in court over his hush money case, so he's asking for a justified absence from legal proceedings. Let's take a look at his fatherhood technique over the years of Barron's life.

Barron Trump's birth

Melania briefly spoke about her pregnancy during an interview in 2006. She spoke about how her husband reacted when she told him that she was pregnant with their first - and only - child together. Melania said that Donald was surprised but happy. She recalled that he expected the couple to have children but was surprised by how quickly it had happened, according to The Mirror. Trump was reportedly a distant father, but that was something that Melania knew about and accepted. She hired a full-time nanny to help with childcare and raised Barron quite closely to her and her side of the family. Melania stated:

I don’t expect him to walk down Fifth Avenue with a stroller.

Trump was not present during the birth of his youngest child.

Melania is a protective mother

Barron is the only Trump who has been mostly kept out of the limelight, his privacy has always been a priority for Melania who made sure her son was spared the public attention and scrutiny Trump’s other children went through during his presidential run and subsequent legal trouble.

Melania also made sure that Barron grew up in touch with his Eastern European heritage. She invested in teaching him her mother tongue, and he even became bilingual to the point of having a Slovenian accent when he spoke English as a young child. He also spent a lot of time with his grandparents and aunt who lives in New York. Despite the very public life she and her husband live, it is quite an achievement that Melania managed to keep Barron away from the public whirlwind constantly surrounding the Trump name.

Trump juggles private life and court

That being said, Barron has definitely grown up over the last few years. First of all, the young man is now a whopping 2.01m tall. On a recent Easter outing, he was seen looking sharp and mostly pretty confident as he walked with his family, wearing a suit, to the meal. Indeed, he is now 18 and will soon graduate from high school. Although Barron seemed to find his dad's dancing a little cringe on this last outing, he also mimicked one of his father's signature gestures - suggesting he admires his dad. Trump, it would seem, is keen to be there on his son's big day.

Trump is set to be in court for around four days a week over a six-week period while his trial is carried out. The ex-president is accused of having paid hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels. He allegedly had an affair with her in 2006, and paid her to ensure that she didn't speak out about it in the run-up to the 2016 election. Daniels is set to take the stand during the court proceedings, as is Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen. The trial got off to a rocky start for Trump earlier this week as he was dubbed 'SleepyDon' after a journalist wrote that he dozed off in court.

The judge's reponse

It appears that both Trump and another person in the proceedings have asked for a day off to attend their sons' graduations. Although Trump raged that he had been 'prohibited' from joining his son on this special day, that is not actually true. In reality, Judge Juan Merchan gave a fair, if vague, answer: 'Regarding counsel's request that the court adjourn on Friday, May 17th for Mr. Trump to attend his son's high school graduation and Friday, June 3rd to allow a member of the defense team to attend their son's graduation, I cannot rule on those two requests at this time.' The Judge explained that it came down to a matter of scheduling:

If everything is going according to schedule without unnecessary delays, then I am sure we will be able to adjourn for one or both of those days, but if we are running behind schedule, we will not be able to.

Trump is the first US president to face criminal charges. His indictment doesn't just accuse him of paying Daniels hush money. It alleges that he falsely documented the payments, made through Cohen, as legal fees. The Manhattan District Attorney leading the case against Trump, Alvin Bragg, is expected to argue that Trump's alleged crimes were more complex than they first appeared. He will explain that his misdeeds were part of a wider scheme to skew the 2016 election in his favour.

Right now, a pool of hundreds of potential jurors is being whittled down. While many are declaring themselves biased in this very public case, eventually the process will settle on 12 who should be as impartial as possible. This could take a fortnight, but will be the final step before opening arguments begin.

So, there we have it: the question of whether or not Barron will have his father at his graduation day can be added to the list of uncertainties surrounding this highly publicised trial.

Read more:

⋙ Donald Trump's youngest son Barron is rarely seen in public, here's what we know about him

⋙ Donald Trump: White House correspondent's new book reveals details about his marriage to Melania

⋙ Donald Trump: Wife Melania criticised for seemingly unenthusiastic demeanour at fundraising event

Sources:

The Mirror: Donald Trump was 'hands-off' father with Barron and didn't want to witness birth

The Mirror: Why Barron Trump shunned limelight and inside his relationship with mom Melania

People: Donald Trump Says He Needs to Pause His Criminal Trial So He Can Attend Son Barron's High School Graduation

The Independent: Trump is seething about missing Barron’s graduation. Here’s what the judge actually said