Donald Trump has drawn criticism from some social media users after he singled out his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., for praise while speaking at the Future Investment Initiative Institute summit in Miami on Friday (March 27).
Trump has five children in total. He shares Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric with his first wife, Ivana Trump. He later welcomed Tiffany with his second wife, Marla Maples. His youngest child, Barron, is with First Lady Melania Trump.
There’s a familiar idea that family attention can be uneven, with first and youngest children sometimes seen as getting the most spotlight.
That sentiment resurfaced online after viewers said Trump appeared to elevate Trump Jr. while overlooking his other children, following a remark focused on his son’s genetics.
The president said in Miami: “Now we have our great son. He’s got the best genes I think of any human being I’ve ever known. He’s my son, Don Trump. Don, he’s a great guy. And his fiancée, Bettina. Good, Bettina, good. Now my son’s got the greatest genes in history. I’m a big believer in genes.”
He continued talking about his eldest son, and some listeners noted that he didn’t mention Ivanka, Tiffany, Eric or Barron in the same stretch of remarks.
On X, one user called Trump a “total embarrassment,” while another wrote: “Melania is going to be so pleased to hear that her son doesn’t rate.”
During the same summit appearance in Florida, Trump also raised eyebrows with a slip-up involving the Strait of Hormuz, momentarily calling it something else.
Speaking of the war with Iran, Trump said: “We’re negotiating now, and it’d be great if we could do something, but they have to open it up. They have to open up the Strait of Trump — I mean, Hormuz. Excuse me, I’m so sorry, such a terrible mistake.”
The president added: “The fake news will say he accidentally said — there’s no accidents with me, not too many. If there were, we’d have a major story.”
Trump has a long track record of favoring his name on buildings and institutions, and the topic has come up again in connection with the Kennedy Centre.
According to reports, the center’s board voted unanimously in December last year to rename the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on social media that the move was due to “the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building”.