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Donald Trump squashed rumors that his son Barron is struggling at NYU while golfing with his granddaughter Kai amid the latest government shutdown.
Barron, 19, recently moved from Manhattan to attend classes at NYU’s campus in Washington, D.C.
Shortly after the move, reports emerged that Barron was having difficulty making friends at school.
Kaya Walker, the former president of NYU College Republicans, told Vanity Fair that Trump’s youngest child was an “oddity,” who “goes to class” and then “goes home.”
However, while golfing with Barron’s niece, Kai, Trump claimed that his son is doing well at school.
“How’s Barron doing at NYU?” Kai asked.
“Good, he’s doing good,’ Trump said in response. ‘He’s a good boy. He loves you.”
“He said, ‘Say hello to Kai, dad’,” Trump continued. “I said, ‘Why don’t you come out and watch [them play golf]?’ He said – he’s so cute.”
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Kai Trump uploaded a video showing her on a golfing trip with the president (Kai Trump)
Kai, Donald Trump Jr’s eldest child, asked her grandfather when Barron resumed classes, and the president told her that his son starts on “Tuesday.”
The golfing clip has been viewed over 1.4 million times on YouTube. California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed the president for taking time to play sports while a government shutdown is in effect.
“He shut down YOUR government,” Newsom wrote on X. “He increased the cost of YOUR health care.
“He raised YOUR taxes, while cutting taxes for billionaires. Now he’s golfing.”
The shutdown has nearly entered its second week, as Republicans and Democrats clash over Trump’s proposed cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies.
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Barron Trump was described as ‘ran through’ and ‘chopped’ on a dating site (Getty)
Earlier this month, The Daily Mail reported that Barron had been branded as “weird” and “awkward” by his peers, with many saying that he “doesn’t talk.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s youngest son could be in line for a massive job at one of the biggest social media platforms in the world.
Jack Advent, former social media strategist to the president during his campaign, told the Daily Mail that Trump had “delivered on his promise to save TikTok.”
‘Young people are overwhelmingly the user base of TikTok,” Advent added. “I’m hopeful President Trump will consider appointing his son Barron and maybe other young Americans to TikTok’s board to help ensure it remains an app young people want to keep using.”
Barron has not commented on his father’s former social media manager’s claims.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.