When Donald Trump returns to the White House on Monday, his family circle will look a little different than when he first arrived eight years ago.
Their youngest son, Barron, was in the fifth grade at the time. He is now a college freshman who is much taller than his 6-foot-plus father. Granddaughter Kai, who turned 9 in 2017, is now an aspiring social media influencer and impressive golfer. Grandson Joseph, who was photographed on Trump’s lap with a Lego model of the White House last fall, is now 11 years old.
Trump’s most prominent relative in the political arena, daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared, are now in Florida, after working in his first administration.
Family members can provide presidents with a ready source of moral and reinforcement support, companionship, and even respite from the world’s problems.
The president-elect has five children – three of whom are married – Ivana Trump, Marla Maples and from his marriage to current wife Melania Trump. He has 10 grandchildren, with an 11th on the way.
A look at Trump’s family circle, then and now:
Melania Trump, Trump’s wife
Then: They spent the early months of Trump’s term in the family’s Manhattan penthouse so that 11-year-old Barron wouldn’t have to change schools mid-year. After moving to the White House, she traveled the United States and other countries, both alone and with Trump, partly to promote his “Be Best” children’s initiative while protecting her privacy.
Now: He avoided active campaigning during Trump’s 2024 term and limited his public appearances to key moments such as the campaign launch, the Republican National Convention and election night. He released a self-titled memoir late last year and will be the subject of a documentary distributed by Amazon Prime Video that is expected to be released this year. Although there is some doubt that Trump’s 54-year-old wife will spend much time in the White House, he said on Fox News. Fox and Friends She has already packed and chosen the furniture she wants to move to the executive mansion.
Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s eldest son
Then: Trump’s eldest son, now 46, campaigned for his father in 2016 and 2020.
Now: Trump Jr.’s influence grew to such an extent that he lobbied his father to select his close friend J.D. Vance for Vice President. He also put forward former Democratic Representatives Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who were the President-elect’s picks for Director of National Intelligence and Health and Human Services, respectively. Trump Jr. helps run the family real estate business and is honorary chairman of Trump’s transition. He has a podcast and has said his role is to prevent “bad actors” from getting into the administration. He recently flew to Greenland on his father’s airplane; The newly elected president has expressed a desire to take control of the mineral-rich Danish territory.
Trump Jr. has five children – or “Smurfs”, as he sometimes refers to them – with his ex-wife Vanessa Trump. They are Kai Madison, 17; Donald John III, 15; Tristan Milos, 13; Spencer Frederick, 12; and Chloe Sophia Trump, 10.
Ivanka Trump, Trump’s eldest daughter
Then: Ivanka, 43, campaigned for her father in 2016 and moved her family from New York City to Washington to work in his White House as a senior adviser. She was also on the campaign trail in 2020, but she and her family moved to Florida and stepped away from the spotlight after her defeat.
Now: As Trump prepared for a 2024 run, Ivanka announced that she loved and supported him but was exiting politics to focus on her husband and their three children. However, she joined her father and other family members on election night and when they rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange in early December. Time The magazine named him Person of the Year.
Ivanka and her husband have three children: Arabella Rose, 13; Joseph Frederick, 11; and Theodore James Kushner, 8.
Eric Trump, Trump’s second son
Then: The 40-year-old helped run the family business and participated in his father’s campaigns.
Now: Eric is also the Honorary Chairman of Transition and a close advisor to his father. But his focus is more on running the family business. In September, he and his brother launched a crypto platform called World Liberty Financial, and his father helped launch it in an interview on the X social media platform.
Eric and his wife, Lara, have two children: Eric Luke, 7, and Carolina Dorothy Trump, 5.
tiffany trump, Trump’s youngest daughter
Then: The daughter of Trump’s second wife, Marla Maples, was 23 years old and had recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, keeping a low profile when Trump was first elected.
Now: She was more present in the 2024 campaign but still largely stayed out of the spotlight. Tiffany, 31, and her husband Michael Boulos are expecting their first child this year. Boulos is a businessman who traveled with Trump in the final stages of the campaign. His father, Massad Boulos, is a Lebanese American businessman who helped Trump with the influential Arab American community in the state of Michigan. Trump has appointed Massad Boulos as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
Barron Trump, Trump’s youngest son
Then: At the beginning of Trump’s first term, Barron and his mother stayed at the family’s Trump Tower penthouse in Manhattan so he could finish his school year. When he reached Washington, his soccer net appeared in what became known as the First Lady’s Garden.
Now: Barron, 18, is a freshman business student at New York University. His parents and Trump campaign officials credit him with recommending the podcast popular among young men, on which the president-elect appeared during the campaign. Melania Trump said Barron will have a bedroom in the White House Fox and Friends,
“I’m very proud of him, his knowledge, even of politics and giving advice to his father,” his mother said at the programme. “He brought in a lot of young guys. He knows his generation.”
Lara Trump, Trump’s daughter-in-law
Then: Trump’s 42-year-old daughter-in-law campaigned for him during all of his terms. After Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, he considered running for a U.S. Senate seat from his home state of North Carolina, but ultimately decided against it. She became a Fox News commentator.
Now: As Trump revived his 2024 campaign, he installed his daughter-in-law as co-chair of the Republican National Committee, where she was a TV-ready lawyer who oversees fundraising, voter outreach and the party’s “election integrity.” Used to oversee the initiative. He resigned from the RNC after the election and withdrew his name from consideration as a possible successor to Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for Secretary of State.
Lara Trump is passionate about fitness and has her own line of activewear.
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law
Then: Kushner, 44, was also a key figure in Trump’s 2016 campaign. He joined his wife as a senior adviser at the White House, a role that included working on U.S. policy toward Israel and the broader Middle East.
Now: Kushner has been out of the political spotlight — but his father may soon step in. Trump announced after the election that he intended to nominate real estate developer Charles Kushner to be US Ambassador to France. The elder Kushner was pardoned by Trump in December 2020 after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign contributions.
Kay Trump, one of Trump’s granddaughters
Then: Kai was in elementary school when his grandfather became president.
Now: Donald Trump Jr.’s 17-year-old granddaughter is an aspiring social media influencer. His behind-the-scenes video from election night received 3.7 million views on YouTube. Other posts related to his grandfather have received millions of views on TikTok. Kay gave her first public speech at the Republican convention and is an avid golfer who sometimes plays with her grandfather.
Arabella Kushner, one of Trump’s granddaughters
Then: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s daughter was 6 years old when her grandfather showed a video of her singing Chinese songs to China’s Xi Jinping in traditional Chinese attire.
“It’s great, OK? He’s very smart,” Trump said. Xi responded that Arabella was his grandfather’s “little angel” and an “ambassador of China-US relations”.
Now: According to her mother’s social media posts, Arabella is 13 years old and enjoys singing, playing the piano, horseback riding, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
