On Monday, Barron Trump accomplished a unique feat. Without ever uttering a single word in public or having any social media accounts, President Donald Trump’s 18-year-old son was anointed as the “future of the conservative movement” by the president of the College Republicans of America.
But not before one head had rolled. The president of the NYU chapter of the College Republicans of America was forced to resign over comments she made about the president’s son who is a freshman at the university. Kaya Walker stepped down on Monday after describing the 18-year-old Trump’s life on campus in an interview the Vanity Fair magazine thusly: “He’s sort of like an oddity on campus. He goes to class, he goes home.”
On Tuesday afternoon, students at New York University’s Stern School of Business, where Trump is a freshman, milled about in the plaza outside the barricaded front entrance in the heart of Greenwich Village. Some had heard of the internet commotion from the previous day. A few students USA TODAY spoke to at the university on Tuesday said they didn’t understand what the fuss was about. None of them wanted to be named.
Most had never laid eyes on the six-foot-seven Barron, who joined the university last fall. The ones who did said he was always surrounded by security. Walker’s description did not sit well with the national leadership of the College Republicans who deemed it “inappropriate” and something that “does not align with the values and principles upheld by our organization.”
A letter posted on X by the national organization called the president’s son “the future” and extended an invitation to join the group.
“Barron Trump represents the future of the conservative movement, and we would be honored to have him join the College Republicans of America,” wrote College Republicans President Will Donahue, who also noted that the group had broken a 100-year precedent by endorsing his father before the Republican primary.
Asked why Barron was being seen as the standard bearer, Donahue told USA TODAY: “We believe that MAGA is the future of the conservative movement, and that the youth will spearhead the institutionalization of Trump’s policies in our politics.”
While younger voters still lean Democratic, Donahue noted Gen-Z’s (those born between 1997 and 2012) rightward shift in the 2024 election.
Voters ages 18-24 supported Democratic candidate former Vice President Kamala Harris by 10 points. In the 2020 election, 18- to 24-year-olds supported former President Joe Biden by 29 points, demonstrating a shift in voter choice, according to Tuft University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
“Young people want fair trade, reasonable immigration policy, and no new wars, and that is what MAGA offers,” Donahue told USA TODAY. Barron, the only child the president has with first lady Melania Trump, has been credited by his parents with helping his father appeal to a younger audience. His son nudged Trump to appear on popular podcasts during the 2024 presidential campaign.
“He was very vocal,” said the first lady in an interview with Fox & Friends, praising his knowledge of politics.
