Former President Donald Trump joined his wife Melania in West Palm Beach, Florida, Friday morning to see their 18-year-old son Barron graduate from high school.
According to the Daily Mail, two police snipers kept a close eye on the events at Oxbridge Academy, with U.S. Marshals officers and deputies from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office patrolling the highway and cordoning off the sidewalk in anticipation of Trump’s arrival.
Chatting and smiling, students’ families reportedly took their seats in the bleachers of the elite college prep school as the student band played Verdi. According to the Mail, they were asked to arrive several hours early to be screened by Secret Service prior to the event.
Trump’s 10-vehicle motorcade pulled up to the school just minutes before the ceremony began, according to the Mail, and a quick glimpse of the former president before he entered a heavily-guarded area revealed he was wearing a dark suit, white shirt and blue tie.
The crowd reportedly gave Trump a round of applause and he took his seat next to Melania and her father, Viktor Knavs, at the front of the bleachers. The former first lady was wearing a navy blazer and a straw hat, according to the Mail.
With the current court schedule for his New York paperwork trial keeping him in Manhattan four days a week, Trump’s ability to attend his youngest child’s graduation was initially uncertain. Late last month, Judge Juan Merchan granted the former president’s petition to pause the trial so that he could attend the 10 a.m. ceremony.
Oxbridge, an exclusive school for students in grades six through 12, was founded in 2011 by billionaire William Koch, the brother of Republican mega-donors Charles and David Koch.
With graduation completed, Barron’s next course has yet to be charted.
Trump had told Megyn Kelly last year that Barron was “thinking about” attending his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, where older children Ivanka, Donald Trump Jr. and Tiffany also attended.
Rumors had also circulated that Barron was considering attending New York University, which could prompt Melania to move back to New York with him. Nothing has been confirmed, however.
During an event on May 9 at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Trump suggested that the anti-Israel protests on college campuses could influence Barron’s decision about where to ultimately enroll.
“Right now, he's doing a great job,” Trump said in a clip posted on X. “He has great marks. He's going to be going to college soon. And we're looking at some colleges that are different [than] they were two months ago.”
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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