President Donald Trump raised eyebrows with online commenters when he called his son, Barron Trump, First Lady Melania Trump's 'wonderful boy.'
The president and first lady were hosting lawmakers of both parties for a holiday Congressional Ball at the White House Thursday night.
Trump delivered remarks with the first lady standing to his side, and then asked Melania to speak.
She told the gathered lawmakers that 'our greatest triumph' in the first lady's office in 2025 was passage of the Take It Down act, which deals with nonconsensual sexual imagery online.
'I appreciate all of your support. I appreciate your bipartisan, overwhelmingly bipartisan support, across the House and the Senate,' Melania said, personally thanking House Speaker Mike Johnson.
'And I hope you will be excited to support my new legislative initiative in 2026,' the first lady continued. 'Some of you already know about it, because it's already in the works,' she teased.
The president then joked that he wasn't among those who knew about it.
'Well I just heard about that for the first time,' Trump said. 'The only thing I can tell you, I know one thing for sure, Mr. Speaker, it's going to be great for children. OK?'
President Donald Trump (left) left online commenters miffed by referring to his son Barron as First Lady Melania Trump's 'wonderful boy'
Barron Trump, 19, is photographed at his father's inauguration in January. He is the only child of Melania Trump and is the youngest son of President Donald Trump
'I don't know what it is she's doing,' the president continued, garnering laughs. 'But I know it's going to be great for children because she loves children.'
The next statement prompted bemused chatter online.
'She's got a wonderful boy and she's very proud of her boy,' the president said.
He and Melania share 19-year-old Barron.
Barron is Melania's only child and the president's youngest son, as the 79-year-old commander-in-chief has been married twice before.
'She's got a wonderful boy, you’d think he’d remember the word son,' one X user commented, adding, 'He talked about his wife's initiative like someone describing a group project they didn’t show up for.'
Another snarky commenter added, 'Grandad forgot he fathered Barron.'
A third added, 'I have a feeling we’ll be hearing about another amazing cognitive test result tomorrow.'
First Lady Melania Trump (right) teased a new initiative that she hoped would make it through Congress in 2026 after her Take It Down Act attracted bipartisan support earlier this year
First Lady Melania Trump (left) and President Donald Trump (right) walk upstairs to the White House residence after making an appearance at Thursday night's Congressional Ball at the White House
Trump has referred to Barron similarly in the past.
During a 2019 White House event during the president's first term, the first lady was pushing for the federal government to ban flavored vapes and cigarettes.
'She's got a son,' Trump said then.
'Together,' he then clarified. 'That is a beautiful, young man, and she feels very, very strongly about it.'
