Where Has the Trump Clan Been While Their Patriarch Sits in Court?

While the family patriarch spends his days in Manhattan Criminal Court attempting to fend off 34 felony counts of falsifying business records involving a six-figure payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels, only one member of the Trump clan has appeared at the former president’s trial.

Adult son Eric showed up in the courtroom gallery this week to observe testimony in his father’s case, but none of the other kids—or Trump’s third wife Melania—have been there to hear the twice-impeached ex-commander-in-chief’s dirty laundry being entered into the public record.

Here’s what they’ve been up to while Big Papa sits through a trial which, if he’s convicted, could send Trump to prison for up to four years.

Melania Trump

The third Mrs. Trump has made just one public appearance since her husband’s hush money trial started roughly a month ago, showing up in April at a fundraiser for the Log Cabin Republicans, a group championing LGBTQ GOPers. Melania did not accompany her other half last year to his arraignment in the Stormy Daniels case, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Melania does not keep a high profile as a former first lady, unlike many other presidential wives in years past. When The Washington Post tried last fall to track down FFLOTUS, reporters were unable to find her anywhere in Palm Beach, Florida where the Trumps now live. One friend of Melania’s told People that the 53-year-old leads “her own life,” and in testimony this week on the stand, Daniels herself recalled Donald Trump telling her, prior to having sex without a condom, that he and Melania slept in separate rooms.

Barron Trump

The youngest Trump child will be graduating from Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach next week, capping off endless complaining and bellyaching from Donald about being forced to attend his own trial that day instead of being there for his his “wonderful son, Barron, who is a GREAT Student at a fantastic School,” as he posted to his flagging Twitter clone, Truth Social. Who would tell the 18-year-old scion “that his Dad will likely not be allowed to attend his Graduation Ceremony?” Trump also whined to reporters outside Courtroom 1530 that his trial was a “scam,” and lambasted Judge Juan Merchan for “not allow[ing] me to escape this scam.”

But, as now has become routine, Trump spoke too soon. When Merchan subsequently said he would pause the trial for the day so Trump could go to the graduation, Trump immediately booked an appearance headlining the Republican Party of Minnesota’s annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner in St. Paul that evening. Trump can theoretically still do both, since Barron’s graduation ceremony kicks off at 10 a.m., and Trump doesn’t have to be in the North Star State until several hours later. His exact plans for the day remain unknown—but Merchan will surely be watching.

Don Jr.

The eldest boy has basically been livetweeting his father’s criminal trial, but has largely been too busy recording episodes of his video podcast (Triggered, like the book) and posting right-wing memes to show face in downtown New York City. Plus, haven’t you heard? He’s in his lifestyle influencer era—and those harsh overhead fluorescents at Manhattan Criminal Court have a way of washing a man out.

That doesn’t mean he’s abandoned Daddy Dearest, though. Far from it: he was pictured, thumbs hooked in pockets, alongside his namesake (or, as Don. Jr referred to him, “my big guy”) at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix over the weekend. What’s more, he said in an interview with the New York Post earlier this year that he plans to be a “very active” part of the transition team should his father win re-election. Choke on that, libs.

Eric

Um, excuse me? How dare you suggest Eric Trump hasn’t been there for the Don? On the contrary, the second failson has been intermittently present and accounted for in court. His first appearance was last Tuesday, when he gave conservative attorney George Conway, who was also observing proceedings, “a dismissive smirk and a snort” at one point, according to Slate. Attaboy!

Aside from “listening attentively,” Eric has more recently been tweeting up a storm about Stormy et al. After the adult film actress took the stand on Tuesday morning, he fired off a post: “Perspective: Sitting front row attempting to figure out how any of this garbage from 20 years ago relates to ‘legal’ bills…” Eric wrote, adding that the “giddy” prosecutors clearly didn’t “give a s**t about the merits of this case.” His take? The entire case “is a massive extortion play.”

Ivanka

Between flashy date nights in Miami and a friend’s wedding in Mexico earlier this week, the eldest Trump daughter is by all accounts having a ball staying away from the Big Apple. But she’s not reportedly not content with the idea of staying away from the circus forever, and is rapidly “warming to the idea of trying to be helpful” to her father’s campaign again, a person familiar with her thinking told Puck earlier this month.

Either way, Ivanka has certainly been in court in spirit amid Daniels’ testimony. On Tuesday, Daniels testified that Trump had compared the two of them in conversation in a Lake Tahoe hotel room. “You remind me of my daughter, she is smart and blonde and beautiful and people underestimate her as well,” Trump allegedly said, right before initiating sex with Daniels. Can’t imagine why Ivanka wouldn’t want to hear that story.

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