It can’t be easy being the youngest son of a man who compares himself to the son of God. Rather a lot to live up to, isn’t there? Still, Barron Trump seems to be taking it in his stride. Rather than rebelling and becoming a socialist, the 20-year-old is shaping up to be just like dad: Barron is already worth $150m, according to a 2025 Forbes calculation. That’s largely from World Liberty Financial, a Trump family cryptocurrency company he co-founded. (Reportedly it’s Barron who got the president into crypto.)
Barron isn’t just trading alt-coins. The university student has also launched a yerba mate brand called Sollos. (Yerba mate is a caffeinated herbal tea from South America). And he’s been engaged with politics behind the scenes. Barron is widely credited for boosting his dad’s most recent election campaign by connecting him to manosphere influencers such as Adin Ross and Theo Von.
While Barron may have helped the president capture the bro vote, some of those bros are now souring on Trump, who ran as an anti-war candidate then started yet another war. During a recent appearance on Von’s podcast, influential Maga voice Jake Paul suggested Trump should be “on the frontlines” in Iran. “Or Barron!” Von interjected. “He might be too tall,” Paul joked, echoing a debunked viral post that claimed the White House said Barron was unable to serve in the military because he’s 6’9”. Paul added: “Bro’s a big target.”
Barron has certainly been the target of a lot of Iran memes: there has been an online campaign to #SendBarron to war, including a satirical website called draftbarrontrump.com. Speaking on Piers Morgan’s show last month, former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura also urged Barron to enlist. “Do something your father didn’t have the courage to do,” Ventura said, referring to Trump avoiding the Vietnam war draft because of bone spurs. “A war is justified if you’re willing to send your kids. Because how can you send somebody else’s kids to a war if you won’t send your own?”
The answer to that question is: easily. The Trumps aren’t the type to get their hands dirty. Eligible men in the US will automatically be registered for the military draft pool beginning in December but I’ve got a feeling Barron will magically be exempt. What may happen, however, is that once this war ends a Trump-run Board of Peace will “rebuild” Iran and force every citizen to drink Barron’s yerba mate. While the plebs are at the frontlines, the Trumps always seem to be focused on their bottom line.
Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
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